Frostrauma
by ToxinAngel969
Summary: His center split in two. One part was Jack Frost, the Guardian of Fun, maker of mischief, master of mayhem. The other part was Jackson Overland, keeper of secrets, sentinel of shadows, still rotting away beneath a layer of blackened ice, endlessly reliving a life of fear and sorrow. Both sides wanted control. So they went to war. Regardless of the casualties. RATING DETAILS INSIDE
1. Through Closed Doors

Title: Frostrauma [The _Below Freezing _Prelude]

Short Summary: Adapting isn't easy. But as far as Jack was concerned, he was fine. A bit apprehensive? Yes. Excessively cautious? Maybe. Traumatized? NO. But the Guardians think otherwise…

Rating: T FOR… Some bad language, morbid descriptions, violence, slight chance of character death, self-harm, blood, angst, and depression :)

Author's Note: I was originally going to post this as a one shot in my collection, _It Snows When It's Dark Out, Too, _but after seeing how many things I could do with it, I'm gonna make it it's own story. Sort of like a prelude for my upcoming _Below Freezing _Series. :) Seems like a pretty decent story line, I guess, might as well give it a shot.

ATTENTION: NOT GETTING REVIEWS MAKES IT FEEL LIKE SOMEONE CURBSTOMPED MY SOUL. PLEASE DON'T CURBSTOMP MY SOUL AND LEAVE AT LEAST A SMILEY FACE TO SHOW IT'S WORTH PURSUING OR THIS STORY WILL DIE.

That'll be all. :D

* * *

When Jack heard that the Guardians were talking about him, and not the Nightmare Sand residue left that they said they'd be talking about, he was preoccupied with playing with the elves in the hallways of the workshop. Jack brushed the tip of his crook against the wooden floor of the hallway, coating it with a thin layer of ice before gently nudging the elves onto the slick surface and sending them spiraling down the hallways. He often had fun with the elves (sometimes even managing to get Phil in on the games they played) when North invited him over only to have to sit outside and wait for the rest of the Guardians to arrive. At times like this, he felt reckless and had to release some of the _fun _that built up inside of him, after not being able to channel it through to the fun-deprived children of the world, seeing that the winter season was dying down now. He couldn't fly to Burgess to play with his handful of believers whenever he felt like spreading his magic (besides, Jamie and his friends had become busy with school since Easter break was over), and in Jack's mind, it wasn't really fair to the others that this one group of kids had more fun. And no, he couldn't necessarily waltz up to one of the Guardians and ask, "Hey, as soon as you're done with whatever you're doing, you wanna have a snowball fight? Maybe make a snowman?"

In his mind, he would be judged, _careless Guardian, ignorant Guardian…_

And he wasn't in the mood to be judged so.

He'd considered just dispersing the enchanting spell of fun amongst a gloomy looking bunch of kids loitering on their school's grounds in Nevada; but that's when North's yetis "invited" him back to the North Pole. So he never really got the chance to let it out. Instead, he decided to share it with the elves, asking them if they'd like to play a game with an innocent, albeit a tad bit mischievous, glint in his ice-blue eyes. They most certainly seemed to appreciate it. The yetis, not so much. But then again, Jack wouldn't like slipping on a random ice path in the hallway and falling on his rump either. _Oops._

Still, Jack played with the elves, smirking at the brown bulky yeti's glare as he struggled to his feet and resumed his errand. So he didn't like it when Jack's fun got in the way of his job. _Tough._

Hey, North said to play with the elves to keep them occupied, he never said he had to play nice.

He expelled his glistening blue snowflakes (he refused to call them sparkles or anything of the sort) upon the yeti, just to see if he could be bribed into joining their quirky band of ice skaters. And in an instant, there was a new amateur skater on the team. The yeti had a shocked but clearly joyous expression, nearly falling flat on his face as he twirled like a disoriented ballerina just sent through a room made up of mirrors. Seeing this reminded him of something, but he shook it off and followed his ice path back to the door it began, all the while smiling and flying above the elves as to urge them to hurry after him. In the midst of his floating, though, he'd grown dizzy; dizzy to the point where his stomach churned sickly. So he carefully landed on his toes and walked the rest of the way instead, each step frosting over the ice path he'd made.

Dizzy spells had become frequent, but Jack never thought much of it and ignored it, as he did with the nausea and the panic attacks. No doubt they were just normal side effects of becoming a new Guardian. They would go away in a matter of days.

_Speaking of Guardians, _he thought to himself as he made his way to the door. His thought process shifted to North. It was strange, how he reacted to seeing Jack after arriving (in the sack) through the snowglobe portal.

_He didn't notice how North was staring at him until after he finally managed to pick himself off the ground. Seeing that he hadn't been sleeping well lately, his energy and strength was faltering, something that Jack tried his best to conceal. He was fine._

"_So whenever you send for me," Jack sardonically began as he knelt down to grab his staff, something he almost forgot to do._

_North's mind was reeling. Jack almost forgot to pick up his staff._

_He _never _forgot about his staff._

"_Are _you _the one that tells them to use the sack, or do the yetis take that upon themselves?" But the jolly old man gave no response. He was staring at him peculiarly, his face bearing the look of surprise, that "Well, whaddaya know?" look he wore after being proven wrong, or having been told of something and finally seeing it but expecting it to be completely different._

"_Well," Jack continued nonchalantly, pretending to be unaware of his (somewhat awkward) staring. "Would it kill you to, I dunno, at least wash the thing? Maybe just spray it down with some air freshener or something? 'Cuz it's starting to smell funny…" North, after coming to grips, chortled heartily at his joke and placed a hand on Jack's shoulder._

"_I remember hearing you say you love the sack. But with all seriousness," North walked Jack to the door as he explained himself. "There is important Guardian meeting-"_

"_Sooo why not use the Northern Lights?"_

"_Eh, it will send wrong message to the other spirits, that there is _danger. _But, ah, there is no danger for to harm children. Is a strict Guardian matter only, to do with nightmare sand still all over the Tooth Palace. That, and Aurora Borealis should be reserved for dire emergencies."_

"_Oh. Well that makes sense, I guess… but where are the others?"_

_They stopped in front of the door that led to the hallway._

"_Rest assured, they are on way, albeit very slowly, but ah, cannot complain. I have favor for to ask of you while we wait. The elves have been restless sense Pitch came to pole. Do you think you could help them to loosen up a little bit? Maybe, have some fun?"_

_Jack didn't hesitate. "No prob, North. Easy."_

"_Good! I will send for you when they've arrived. And Jack?" he caught the boy's attention before he could make it all the way out the door._

"_Yeah?"_

"_Please don't break things."_

_Jack laughed._

Jack remembered North saying to him very clearly that he would send for him when the other Guardians arrived. This was why he was confused when he heard voices emitting from behind the door that he'd just flown up to. They sounded hushed, urgent…

Jack quietly shook his head. It must have just been him. He _had _been hearing things lately anyways, seeing things that weren't really there… Therefore he concluded that the voices were in his mind and reached for the door handle.

"Ah told ya he wasn't a'right, mate!" Bunny's raised voice emanated from inside the main floor of the workshop, followed by a slur of shushes, and Jack withdrew his hand. _What the hell? _Jack thought to himself. _They started the meeting without me? And who are they talking about? _Very carefully, he pressed his ear against the door, to better hear just what had to be kept a secret from Jack Frost.

"Yes, Bunny. I know, and am sorry for doubting you," North said sincerely. "I saw his condition today before sending him out with elves, took closer look at him,"

Jack's breath caught in his throat when he realized that they were talking about him, but couldn't help thinking to himself after North's comment, _Um... That's not creepy._

"His eyes, bloodshot. Skin, sheet-white and-"

"But Jack's always been pale!" Tooth interjected a little too loud for their liking, earning a few more shushes from her own fairies before North continued.

"Well, yes, but not like this. No, he looks almost sickly, Tooth. Unwell,"

Bunny intervened, "Ah tell ya what, North, ah think the boy's ill. Ah was… on mah way ta Warren afta visitin' some anklebiters the otha day, an' the kid was retchin' in tha bushes-"

This comment caused Tooth to gasp and go on a rant on how that was bad for your oral health. This comment caused a very angry Jack Frost to chew on his lower lip, ignoring the approaching elves as they turned the corner and came towards him. But the Pooka didn't finish there.

"But I reckon tha' was jus' from all tha bawlin' tha poor boy did," Bunny concluded silently. Jack's grip on his staff tightened. _So they think that they can just spy on me and then talk about me behind my back? _He thought, only to return his attention to the conversation occurring on the other side of the door.

He heard the muffled sound of sand shifting, and assumed that it was Sandy's turn to speak… well, not speak per se, but to show them what he was thinking on the matter through gold sand pictures.

"So he has not been sleeping lately?" North implied, and Sandy continued.

When Sandman finished with whatever he was saying, Tooth let out a startled cry and North let out a "No… Rimsey Korsakov, what have we done?…"

Bunny remained silent.

_What? What!? What did Sandy tell you I was doing!? _Jack urged in his thoughts, taking a deep breath to steady him from collapsing then and there. No. There was no way. Why would they sit back and _watch _him all those years alone, and then bring it up now just because he was a Guardian!? Jack usually vomited when he cried too much. But he always cried before. Why was it such a big issue now? And what could've been causing all the sullen responses from the Guardians? Just what did Sandy say to them? Did Sandy know of-

"Aw, Ah told ya, ya gumby!" Bunny nearly shouted, snarling aggressively under his breath. "Ah told ya 'bout it before it was this bad, an' ya blew it off, so now it's gotten bloody worse an'-!"

"Bunny! Please calm down," Tooth said boldly at first, then a little more softer, "It's gonna be okay."

"Okay?! This is far from okay, Tooth, an' ya know it! Crikey! Why couldn't we 'ave been there for 'im when he -"

North interrupted Bunny. "I know, my friend. And I regret ever disregarding the matter. And as much as I'd like to just tell Jack of these secret meetings,"

_So they've talked about me on more than one occasion, huh? _Jack sneered silently.

"We have serious question to find answer to: Will it go away over time, or-"

"Oh yah, North, 'cuz that's jus' what tha kid needs. More time ta himself."

"Bunny!" Tooth said again, allowing North to continue.

"Or will his trauma grow worse?"

Jack's heart stopped. _Trauma? What trauma? I don't have freakin' trauma! I mean, yeah, sure, I puke sometimes, and have trouble sleeping, but don't we all? Why bring it up now when it was okay in the pas-_

Jack didn't see the elves until they collided with his legs and sent him crashing through the door.

* * *

Author's Note:

O.O Well. There's a bit of explaining to be done. XD

LIKE I SAID. I LOVE MY SOUL. PLEASE DON'T ABUSE IT AND LEAVE A REVIEW. Thank you :D

969~696

EDIT: Thank you guys so much for the reviews :D this story won't die, I promise! I'll upload as soon as the testing's over at the end of the week k? :D Thanks again!


	2. Two-faced Gumby

Author's Note: Firstly, thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou for reviewing, I can't even express my gratitude except by posting more chapters! Secondly, first day of summer break! Woop! Yesterday didn't count because I had to go back to the damn school for one of my friends' graduation ceremony-thingy, so that day was invalid. Anyway, I have the chapter after this one written up already, which will probably be uploaded around noon tomorrow. I'll be able to work more on this a little later in the week too :D Yay for no school!

Enjoy!

*WARNING: This chapter contains (oh no!) cursing. : | Don't worry, next chapter is where shit hits the fan rating-wise. :D

* * *

There was a startled jump from everyone in the room when the blurry ball of blue (accompanied by a number of disoriented elves nonetheless) crashed through the door and rolled a little ways before managing to skid to a halt in the center of the room. The tension had yet to dissipate even after the Big Four realized that it was Jack; if anything, it intensified.

"Ow! Oww-Dingle!?" Jack exclaimed to the equally dizzy elf who, despite his current disposition with the battered spirit, used Jack's shoulder to pull himself up. After taking a second to regain his balance, only to fall back down once again, he shot Jack an apologetic grin, the bell atop his hat chiming faintly as he shrugged. At the sight of the elves faux innocence, the winter spirit couldn't help but chuckle and momentarily forget that he'd just been caught eavesdropping on the other Guardians.

"I'm gonna get you for that, short stuff," he taunted playfully, grabbing Dingle gently by the middle and setting him upright; the quirky elf shot a thumbs up to Jack enthusiastically before spotting the four Guardians behind said spirit of fun, and all traces of his previous joy had diminished.

"Jack?" North asked tentatively to the boy who was still sitting on the floor with his back facing them.

Jacks joyous feeling fled as Dingle's did, first replaced with a sense of uneasiness and worry, then with an unfathomable anger that took all of his effort to conceal. He pulled himself up on two weak uncertain legs as he responded sardonically, his back still turned to the four, "So, uh, what was it we'd be talking about?" he asked nonchalantly, brushing himself off and straightening out his hoodie. "_Nightmare sand?_"

North took a step forward to place a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Jack, we-"

"Oh, wait!" Jack laughed sarcastically as he flipped around and ran his hands through his hair, his staff long forgotten. "No, it wouldn't be _we, _now would it? No, while you guys were gossiping, I was kept busy, wasn't I?" He spoke these words scornfully with a look of disgust upon his face, glowering at every one of the spirits as if to emphasize his sense of betrayal, as well as to see just how mad they were at him.

To his surprise, the only angry face in the room was North's, and his face wasn't angry per se, it was one that you could interpret as that stern look you received from your mother after being caught sneaking into the cookie jar late at night. Tooth looked panic-stricken, staring at the ground as guilt consumed her startled expression hungrily. Sandy still looked surprised, staring at Jack with wide eyes and an agape mouth.

Bunny's surprise diminished long ago. He was completely expressionless.

"Jack, listen!" North began, only to be cut off by him once again.

"And to think, of all the things you four could talk shit about, you choose to talk about me?" The guardians (not including Bunny) winced under the harsh words; they've never heard Jack swear before. Jack paused before shrugging and pinching the bridge of his nose, his other hand clenched into a tight fist. "Actually, it's not that surprising at all. I really should a seen this coming earlier,"

Not really knowing what else to do, North sighed deeply and looked at Jack sullenly. "Jack, we are not doing the gossiping." He took another breath and continued hesitantly. "We talk of your current condition, for you are not well and-"

"All right, first of all, I have no condition for you guys to talk of, okay? And second, I _am _well, I'm just fine."

"It might seem that way… if it has been ongoing for extended periods of time. But we are concerned with how your new Guardianship might be stressing the-"

By this time, Jack's face was contorted with fury and disbelief. "I don't know where you've been this whole time, but in case you have yet to notice- here, let me _spell it out _for you." He sneered disdainfully. He motioned to his blue hoodie. "Nothing except this has changed about me in the past 319 years. That being said, do you honestly think that whatever it is you four have seen after _spying _on me will just go away overnight? I hate to rain on your parade, but it's here to stay." Jack took a step toward North threateningly, spewing words that were drenched with repugnance.

"I'm not helpless. I can handle myself. I don't need to be _fixed._"

Jack really didn't expect Bunny to come to his aid at this point, much less participate in this conversation at all.

"North, maybe Frost is righ'."

The Guardian of wonder seemed taken aback as Bunny continued. "I'm startin' ta think tha' maybe we're jus' overreactin' a pinch." he gestured to Jack. "I mean, he's gotta point, he's not _helpless _and I don' think tha' hoverin' ova him like this'll do any good. Hell, we're underestimatin' him, mate! If he says he can take care of himself, then let 'im."

Jack's mind was reeling with confusion as he saw Bunny look at Sandy questioningly. "Wha's your say in this, Sandy?"

* * *

Personally, Sandy took pride in his astounding ability to read others' thoughts. It was one of his many methods for tapping into children's dreams to monitor their fear levels. Using this method, he could determine exactly how much fear resided in the dream, which would help him decide whether or not he would intervene or just wake up the child and start anew. It was a profoundly useful tool, even when he read thought that he really wouldn't have liked to read.

It was especially useful now, seeing that Jack didn't know of it and Bunny could use it to his advantage.

_I have a plan. Tha bloody anklebita won't admit somethin's wrong unless we prove it ta 'im. Trust me._

Sandy complied, trusting that the Guardian of hope knew what he was doing.

* * *

Sandy looked to be deep in though, contemplating this as he inspected Bunnymund's face before vigorously nodding in approval. While Bunny motioned to Sandy and looked at North with his 'I told you so' look, Jack remained silent. To be honest, he expected them to be angry for spying on their conversation, but he soon came to realize that he had the right to be angry himself since they were the ones holding confidential meetings – about him – in the first place. And he was livid, his insides churning and his fingernails digging into his palms as the fist tightened. Bunny was dead on; they should've been laying off, shouldn't have kept a secret like this in the first place.

But Jack knew Bunny. He wasn't one to simply admit his mistake out of the blue like this, much less try to redeem it. He especially wasn't one to stand up for Jack, regardless of the other Guardians' presence. So why was it that when the Pooka explained his reasoning to North and looked to Sandy for confirmation, he felt a twinge of unease, a sickening sense of anxiety welling up in his stomach? Was it just that he was so unused to Bunny going out of his way for him? Or was it that unmistakable twinkle of deception in those green eyes as they stared into Sandys'?

_I don't want to be here, _a voice in his mind said harshly, causing him to interrupt North and Bunny's ranting.

"Um, okay, well thank you for absolutely nothing," Jack stated with an emotionless tone, ignoring the dizziness that slowly crept into his sight. "Except maybe for dropping my IQ down 20 points with all of your delusional bullshit, sooo if you don't mind," he carefully knelt down and scooped up his shepherds crook. "I have other _trauma symptoms _to carry out." And with that, Jack flew out the window with only one destination in mind.

* * *

Jack's feet didn't even have the opportunity to touch the ground in the small city of Burgess when the boomerang slammed into his chest. The impact sent him backwards quite aways and he nearly toppled over after planting his feet on the dirt in his woods. His free hand clutched at his chest in shock as the air refused to reenter his lungs after the blow, and by the time he managed to catch his breath, the Pooka had hopped entirely out of the tunnel a few yards in front from him.

"Hey, what gives!?" He demanded angrily, upset that Bunny had not only seen him get the breath knocked out of him so easily, but also because he followed him back from the pole.

"I have ta talk ta ya, mate." Bunny replied coolly, withdrawing his other boomerang and pointing at him with it. "So dont'cha even think abou' makin' a break for it,"

Jack gripped his staff tighter. "Excuse me, but were you not the one in there that was just talking about not hovering!?"

"Oh yeah, you're welcome for gettin' the others off ya back, by the way."

"Are you seriously telling me that you pulled all of that out your ass?"

"Maybe. Ya looked like ya coulda used some backup back there,"

"Well I didn't. I'm not a baby, I could've handled myself."

Bunny crossed his arms at this childlike response and shot the boy a doubtful look. "You an' I both know there's somethin' wrong with ya. Ya weren't like this back in '68. And even if ya were, it wasn't this bad. It's gettin' worse."

Jack aggressively ruffled his snow white hair, pacing furiously and, out of pure annoyance, let out a long droning groan. "Uuugh, what are you? Blind!?" He stepped closer to Bunny with an infuriated scowl written upon his face. "Look! Look at me! I'm just fine! What do I have to do to prove that to you!?"

Bunny twirled his boomerang in his paw and spoke nonchalantly. "…Fight me."

Jack was taken aback. "What?"

"Well, you're sayin' ya just fine," Bunny explained, almost sounding bored as he prodded in Jack's direction with his boomerang. "An' ya faught pretty well back in '68 I recall, almost gave me a run for mah money, ta be honest. So why not 'ave a brawl? Think of it sort of like a _game._ I never really gotcha back for snowin' out ma Easter anyway." he gestured to the frozen lake beside them. "You an' me on that ice over there. An elemental battle: ya got winter, I got spring. If you win, you would've proven yourself, thatcha just fine, and we'll leave ya be."

"And if I lose?" Jack spat before he could help himself. He focused completely on Bunny when he said the word _game; _he just couldn't stop himself from asking. If it was a game, he would _have _to accept. And he wanted to know the terms.

"If you lose, then ya gonna come back ta the Pole with me and let us help you."

Jack snorted at this comment and tossed his staff back and forth between his hands. _No, I won't say no just yet, this sounds interesting… _"Alright, what determines the loser?"

"Which eva spirit can't get back up on their feet in ten seconds."

_Easy, _Jack pondered, shooting an uncomfortable look at the lake. "Not on the ice…"

"Why not?"

"Because. That's why." Jack said harshly to the Pooka, and after seeing that the bunny's expression hardened angrily, he sighed and shook his head. "It's for personal reasons."

Much to his surprise, Bunny didn't persist. In fact, he looked at Jack almost with a look of understanding.

"Righ' here, then." Bunny tapped his foot on the ground, and a number of vines erupted from the dirt and formed a circle around the two, the perimeter being about twice the size of the lake.

Bunny looked to Jack impatiently.

"So do we got a deal or not?" he asked.

Jack pondered this. _Okay. Elemental battle, winter vs. spring, sorta like the one we had in '68. I can do that. I win, I get these guys off my back, but if I lose, they'll- NO. No, don't think about losing, you whupped that sorry rabbit's ass last time, this is gonna be a piece of cake. Just wear him out. That's a lot harder than it sounds, no doubt. The freakin' bunny's built like a ninja… a nature ninja… heh, alliteration. Focus, Jack! Are you really gonna risk having to be babied by these guys for the rest of eternity?_

_Well, if winning meant never having to put up with their babying ever_ _again…_

Jack's contemplating expression changed into that of stubborn determination, and he positioned his staff defensively. His voice came out as a hushed, hesitant whisper.

"Deal."

Author's Note:

How I love the cliffhangers :D The next chapter's a fight scene. I love fight scenes too, as you'll notice once I pull my head out and upload my Below Freezing story. Again, thank you for reviews, please leave one, I wanna know how I did on this chapter. THANK YOU FOR SHOWING MERCY TO MY SOUL :D. I WILL EDIT LATER, BUT I HEAR THUNDER SO I DON'T REALLY WANNA RISK IT.

We're gonna see what goes down next chapter… You don't piss Jack off.

…

Heh, piss Jack off. XD God I don't even try and I'm a perv.

Now if you excuse me, I'm gonna go watch Looney Tunes until the power goes out : )

969~696


	3. Bruise-faced Brumby

Author's Note: I know I said I was gonna upload it the other day, but mother nature was against it. B[ It was thunderbooming all day here, so I was sitting thinking to myself, "Well, fuck. My readers are gonna put me in the cone of shame after this."

And then after that I just got lazy. :\ So yeah.

Well, I hope this (albeit incredibly crappy) action scene makes up for it's lateness :D

Oh and uh thank you to a reviewer who gave me this really interesting idea as to how the next chapter should go…

lol I call it _ice bending. _XD

Warning: Brace yourself. This chapter contains excessively descriptive scenes of violence and ideologically sensitive material, as well as language, cutting/self-harm, blood, and some seriously messed up feels.

Oh, and did I say that Bunny's sort of a jerk in this chapter? It may not seem that way in the beginning, but we all know how Bunny can get… Jus' sayin…

* * *

In an attempt to reduce his building sense of uncertainty as Bunnymund replaced his boomerangs, Jack halfheartedly asked, "What, no rules? That's a first, especially when it comes to you."

"Maybe one," Bunny replied as a sly smirk crept onto his face. "Don't cry like a lil' baby when ya lose,"

Jack clutched his staff with an iron grip. "Oh, you are so _dead._" _Alright, no rules. This would be FUN._

Armed with a war cry and a fierce look of determination, Jack was the first to attack, nimbly expelling a powerful surge of ice energy towards Bunny only to have the Pooka dodge it easily. The rabbit just as quickly withdrew his boomerang and chucked it towards the winter spirit with all his might.

Knowing that the enchanted weapon would track him down until colliding with a solid source, Jack slammed his crook against the ground and caused a thick sheet of ice to rapidly manifest in front of him for him to use as a temporary shield. The boomerang rammed into it and became lodged in the ice, and Jack, in spite of the seriousness of this situation, couldn't help but to laugh as he balanced on top of the ice wall. "Oops." He shot the equally laid-back spring spirit a feigned _I didn't do it _expression before returning his attention to the weapon in the ice. "That's, uh, that's gonna be a bitch to try and dig out, bro."

"So will this," Bunny commented coolly, and Jack looked up from the wedged boomerang just in time for something to stab through his left shoulder. He let out a surprised cry as a wave of pain shot through his arm. His seemingly carefree stance faltered as, with a shaky hand, Jack forcefully tugged the sharp projectile out of his shoulder.

"A ninja star? Are you _kidding me_!?" Jack hollered at the smug-ridden Pooka who simply stared back at him haughtily. _Well, whaddaya know? _He thought to himself despite the deep wound incessantly throbbing in his shoulder.

"No rules, mate." Bunny shrugged with a grin. "An' I never said anythin' about goin' easy on ya."

Jack glowered, lightly tapping his cut with his staff so that it would freeze over. "Yeah? Well neither did I."

With that, Jack flew toward Bunny menacingly, only to come to a halt about a foot in front of him and incessantly twirling around him. His flying circles around him dizzied the rabbit as Jack dragged the tip of his staff against the ground. He quickly flew out of the way when Bunny slipped on the ice patch that formed beneath his feet, and used his temporary disorientation to his advantage. With a lighthearted chuckle, Jack tapped the tree beside Bunny and the snow that had gathered there came crashing down on top of him, obscuring the pooka entirely and causing Jack to laugh out loud. "Sure hope you don't catch a cold, Cottontail!" he joked, and with the swish of his hand, blew the snow away from Bunny, only to see that he was no longer there. "What?" he asked to himself, quizzically staring at the spot on the ground where, as the snow hesitantly dispersed, a small bright yellow flower gradually sprouted from the dirt.

"Hiyah!" A shout bellowed from behind him, and Jack immediately took to the air to avoid being pelted by a ninja star again. Even when one swiftly caught him on the leg, he swallowed the pain and acted as if the injury hadn't hurt him, and instead looked down with a light chuckle as the bunny hopped from his new tunnel. "Now's the time to sprout some wings, Thumper," his comment was cut short as something wrapped around his ankle and yanked him back down to earth, slamming him against the ground with a thud.

"Well, tha' didn't last long at all, did it?" Bunnymund sneered. Jack froze the green vine before it could consume his leg and gave it a sharp tug, shattering it into a bunch of pieces and kicking them aside aggressively. "Oh, it's _wabbit_ season." he snarled, aiming his staff like a gun to the Pooka.

The Pooka couldn't help but laugh at his playfulness in spite of his injuries. He always found ways to make a dead serious battle seem like a game of tag. "Crikey, _chill out, _Jack. All in good fun."

"Oh, I get it, ha." He pretended to laugh and gestured to himself, kicking off and hovering in the air just in case Bunny tried to sprout any more vines. "_Chill out _because I'm a winter spirit and the fun 'cause... Okay, I see how it is!" By this time, Jack was no longer angry or overly determined; he forgot – or rather, he disregarded – the fact that this battle would be the difference between being babied for the rest of his Immortal existence or being left at peace for as long as he liked. To be frank, he was riled like a little boy hopped up on sugar, willing to play any game as long as it meant being able to crack jokes and puns, being able to cause unnecessary mischief and move around with no boundaries or restrictions. And as of right now, that's all this was, regardless of Bunny's ninja stars, for it was all in good fun…

This was around the time when Jack began to feel lightheaded. He stopped hovering in the air and shakily stood his ground, but it still felt like he was floating. Despite the small thorns that were in the dirt digging into his bare feet, he felt like he was being tossed around in slow motion, like trying to move underwater. He took in deep greedy breaths, his chest rising and falling, heaving as his lungs filled with as much air they could possibly hold; but he felt like he was holding his breath, felt like he wasn't breathing at all. The lightheadedness worsened, causing him to stumble backward slightly before regaining a little sense of balance. His staff slipped from his hands. He clutched his head as the unbearable pounding began to commence, and despite the sweat rolling down his temples, he felt cold, shivers of dread creeping down his spine.

It wasn't right. It didn't feel _right. _Something about this feeling just didn't feel right to Jack. In all of his 319 years of existence, the all too familiar feeling of cold never returned until now. The full moon watched from his space in the sky as the winter spirit released a small moan.

For the first time in his immortal life, Jack Frost felt cold.

And it was causing him pain.

Noticing this abrupt change in Jack's demeanor, Bunny replaced his stars and took a step closer. "Jack? Are ya feelin' alrigh'?"

_I can't fight like this. _Jack's mind reeled._ He'll win if it's one-on-one combat. Distance. I need distance. _He tried to tell himself as he clenched his jaw and began to lean a little to the left, barely catching himself as he nearly toppled over.

"Jack!?"

In an effort to keep the Pooka at a distance, he summoned the winds of the Burgess area and blasted them at him, sending him skidding backward a good few yards before the wind ultimately lost control and whirled around Jack in disarray. _Come on, listen to me! _He beckoned silently, _Keep him away from me! I can't fight right now and…_His train of thought drifted as the world he knew began to tilt sideways… or was he falling? He honestly couldn't tell. As of right now, he could only hear a high pitched ringing in his ears and he could only see a miscellaneous slur of colors as they unwillingly blurred together, blending into incomprehensible hues and mutilating his perception. His limbs tingled all over and he found that he had no control over them. Ultimately, they were numbing, as they would after spending too long out in the cold. As Bunny's cries grew louder and his sideways vague impression grew nearer, Jack's eyes closed.

_I can't lose this game…_

_"Jack... I'm scared..."_

* * *

His eyes shot open.

Jack couldn't determine how long he was out, but after squinting past Bunny's blurry, fright-ridden face and saw that the color of the sky was still the same, he concluded that it couldn't have been too-

Wait. Bunny?

Jack rapidly blinked as the colors finally began to separate themselves, and came to realize that Bunny's face was hovering above his own worriedly. His voice slowly reached his ears, and when they did, they were distorted and muffled, as if they were underwater.

"…ack? Can ya hear me? Jack, answer me! C'mon!"

"Bunny?" Jack murmured. The Pooka's voice sounded foreign, his words blurred and run together.

"Jack! Are ya alright, mate? How ya feelin'?"

Seeing that he was being cradled (like an infant, like a helpless baby) the winter spirit attempted to sit up, slowly recovering their ability to move at a normal speed again, but still a little too delayed for his liking. "What…happened…?" he breathed, rubbing his eyes as the drowsiness continued to linger.

"Ya jus' passed out, mate. Fainted righ' in the middle of tha field. Ya don't look too good, Frostbite."

"Are… is it paused?" Jack mumbled.

"What? Is what paused?"

"That game we were playing," As Jack reached up to rub his eyes, his blue sleeve slid a little ways down his arm, and something dark red caught Bunny's attention.

The bunny didn't even bother to ask him where they were from as he grabbed Jack's wrist and inspected the cuts. Jack didn't even notice that his biggest secret was out until he found that Bunny was staring at them funny. It took him a little bit longer to react, seeing that he was still putting the pieces together in his mind.

Jack didn't say anything as he tore his wrist from Bunny's grasp and stood, upon his face a look of disbelief and utter shock. He couldn't even bring himself to say something. He could just stare at the equally surprised pooka as a number of thoughts crossed both of their minds.

Bunny softly broke the silence with a gentle tone of voice. "Jack…"

To the winter spirit, it was like breaking the ice beneath him, threatening to swallow him up whole, paralyze him, deeming him unable to move or to breathe.

Bunny stood up as well, still somewhat crouched so that he didn't come off too angry or intimidating. "Jack, why-"

"Shut up!" He shouted back before he could stop himself. Regardless of his present weakness and dizziness, he scowled at the rabbit, his fists clenched and his bright blue eyes piercing through the sympathetic bright green ones. Rage emitted from every action, every word he spoke, every move he made. "Just shut up! I haven't lost yet, so _fuck off_!"

Before Jack could allow Bunny to justify his (unfair, unneeded, stupid, stupid, stupid) concern for the winter spirit's current state, Jack bellowed a battle cry.

There was no way he was losing this game.

_There was no way._

Faster than he thought he could, Jack's fist slammed into his makeshift ice shield and used his magic to form its remnants into sharp shards of ice, commanding them with a flick of his hand to fly towards the dumbfounded bunny. Despite Bunny's attempt to dodge the shards, a few found themselves lodged into his skin, one even going through the thin skin of his erect ears.

"I don't need you to babysit me!" Jack hollered as he flew over to the frozen lake and hovered over it, completely disregarding the makeshift arena boundary formed by the vines. "I don't need you or any of the others to constantly watch over me! I can take care of myself! I'm not a fucking baby!"

Bunny took a step forward, holding his anger inside as much as he could manage. "Butcha still a child, Jack! Ya still a new spirit, an' ya need some guidance! What you're going through isn't natural!"

Jack clenched his eyes shut. With a holler, he slammed his foot into the ice, raising a fist to bring up a frozen chunk of the lake and throwing it at Bunnymund. An overwhelming surge of anger consumed Jack after seeing that the spring spirit merely avoided it and resumed talking.

"Let us help you! You're sick, Jack! Ya don't know what-"

"You don't know! You don't know _anything_!" Jack shouted, throwing another hunk of ice at Bunny. "You don't know what I am!"

At this point, Bunnymund was fed up. After seeing that he couldn't try to reason with him – couldn't get through to him in general – Bunny snarled and chucked his boomerang. He had to make him see it.

"Ya damn right I do! Ah know that you're incompetent!" His next boomerang hit him on the side, pushing him off the lake and into one of the trees beside it, which he used to pull himself back up as Bunny advanced on him.

"You're destructive!" Jack paused in the midst of his recouping and listened to the words as he came closer. "You're blinkin' daft! Ya reckless, careless, immature!" Now Bunny was up to his toes, forcing him to back up against the tree. For a brief moment, Jack was… well, frightened. But he quickly masked his anger and discomfort, glaring up at the equally infuriated bunny.

"I don't care." He stated with a low venomous tone, his pale face looking up defiantly at the guardian of hope. A deep blue flush began to obscure his white cheeks as his anger intensified and his jaw clenched. "I can take care of myself. I'm not _helpless._"

In an instant, an indescribably excruciating pain emanated from his shoulder. Jack clenched his eyes shut and screamed at the sudden pain, his face contorted with agony as the sensation spread throughout his arm and the left uppermost side of his body. When he opened his eyes he saw that Bunny had stabbed through the cut on his shoulder with one of his boomerangs. The unwilling tears immediately froze against his cheeks once escaping the corner of his eyes. His body shook as he racked a sob. "Bunny!"

"Wha' was that you said 'bout being _helpless_?!" Bunnymund scorned angrily. "If ya are watcha say ya are, then get out! Fight!" He gave the boomerang a twist inside the boys arm.

Jack screamed and writhe in pain, using his opposite hand to grab the rabbit's wrist in an attempt to pry it off. Frozen tears covered his face as he cried out weakly. "Bunny stop! Stop!"

"Ah will when Ah hear ya say it!" he growled aggressively over Jack's feeble pleading and his futile attempts to wriggle out of his grasp. "Say it,"

The bawling winter spirit, whose shaking hand now clung to Bunny's arm more for leverage than to try to escape, spoke with a raspy and sobbing voice. His words came out almost inconceivably, sounding more like a giant mass of vowels and sniffles than anything. "I don't know wha-what you-you-you want, want m-me to say, just please, _please _st-stop,"

Bunny ripped the bloodied boomerang from Jack's shoulder, earning another howl of pain from the sprite.

"Can ya fight like this?" Bunny asked calmly, almost as if he were reprimanding a bad child.

After a few more light sobs, Jack shook his head. "N-no…" he whimpered.

"Can ya defend yourself like this?"

"No,"

"Now wha' does that make you?"

Jack thought to himself silently, looking up to the Pooka's face before looking down at the ground in defeat. "…helpless…"

Bunny agrinned. He saw it.

"If I were ta do this ta ya back in '68, ya woulda kicked my arse, mate. Do ya see what I'm getting' at?"

Jack was unresponsive for a moment or two, barely nodding to his words. "Can-can we please just… finish this game?"

Bunny sighed. "Are ya sure ya wanna do that?"

"I-I can't walk out on-on games…"

Before Jack could confirm Bunny's decision, he was thrown to the ground, his back colliding with the earth with a muffled thud. One of Bunny's humongous feet pressed against Jack's chest, and began counting down from ten.

"Wha-? He-hey!" he protested softly, seeing that the foot on his chest restricted him from crying out too loudly. "Y-you dick! That's cheating!"

"No rules, mate." Bunny reminded dryly, crossing his arms as he counted aloud mockingly.

"Six… five…"

"Bunny! That's not fair! Get off!" he attempted to freeze the Bunny's feet in an effort to get him off, but it was in vain; even if Jack was strong enough to form the ice, it would've taken too long to spread.

"Three… two… one…"

Jack shouted in objection. "That's not _fair, _Bunny!"

The pooka leaned forward and faced the upset angry sprite with a look of smug satisfaction.

"I win."

* * *

Author's Note: Like I said, sorry for the late update. Hope this wasn't too bad ^^; but hey a review should tell me how I did quite nicely : )

I love you all to a certain extent (cold but true; hey, at least I love you!)

969~696


	4. Cheater Cheater Pumpkin Eater

_Author's Note: So. Gratzi for all the reviews and cookies. I feel loved :D_

_Lately I've been in a really bad, utterly hopeless rut of depression, so if the next few chapters aren't on the up and up, there's a good reason, and I'll probably go back to edit them later. :\ Thanks again._

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Rated T for: Self harm and (oh no!) language X3

Tooth was infuriated.

Her face, which was always tranquilly composed and eager to carry out instructions to her fairies, was distorted with an outraged expression and flushed red with anger upon hearing the news. After the meeting went downhill, Tooth and Sandy stayed to discuss with North what course of action should be made to better clarify the situation. Baby Tooth was sent to Burgess for a premolar (After becoming close friends with Jack, the small fairy requested to collect all the teeth in an around this area.) It was here where she came across the fighting.

For a brief moment, Baby Tooth had considered helping Jack. Then she saw who he was fighting with, and abruptly came to a halt just before diving into her opponents shoulder beak first. It was a miracle neither of them noticed, too ensnared in their shouting to see the fairy fly back up above them and analyze them carefully. He was fighting with another guardian. That didn't seem right at all. Of course, between the two, some bickering and snowballs here and there was expected. But upon seeing the intensity of this fight… Baby Tooth considered not telling anyone of what she saw. There had to be a legitimate reason as to why they were fighting, after all. Surely they wouldn't fight like this - so angrily, so mercilessly - just because one of them were poking fun at the other. Right? She'd never seen Jack so inhumanely violent, it wasn't in his nature to act so aggressively, especially toward another guardian. Even from a distance, she could make out that spark of pure hatred glistening in his hardened bright blue eyes; the disgustingly powerful anger emitting from his glowering scowl. He just didn't strike her as the same person she was best friends with. And what if this were a secret fight? What would become of her when she told her leader? It was best if she kept it in.

But that idea wouldn't work either, seeing that the Tooth fairy was, in a way, connected to all of her fairies. By this time, Tooth probably already felt the great sense of unease and worry that Baby Tooth had contracted not moments before.

"_Guys? Don't you think we should go look for Jack? I feel… I'm really worried for him. I don't want him to be alone, not if he's weak or sick…"_

"_We are all worried, Tooth. But for now, we must find best way to approach him and help him recover. As of right now, he might be out of shorts, but like Bunny said, he is not helpless. He's fine."_

"_Don't you mean out of _sorts, _North?"_

"…_Is that not what I said?"_

"_Never mind… It's just, I feel like… I guess it's just me…"_

After excessively overanalyzing the matter at hand, Baby Tooth sighed and flew back to the Pole. She deemed it best if the others knew of what these two were up to. The weather wouldn't pose to be much of a problem, seeing that the fairies were built to endure just about any weather condition so their tooth collecting wouldn't be too delayed. The real problem was telling her leader before the fight got too out of hand; if it already appeared to Baby Tooth as a heated one-on-one death match, she couldn't even imagine how bad things would end up if it escalated. That, and seeing Jack so bent on destroying someone simply didn't sit right with her.

* * *

"Sandy says it would be most beneficial to wait it out and see if his symptoms go away over time," Tooth interpreted, glancing at the sand snowflake and clock hovering above the guardian's head. The Sandman grinned and delightfully nodded at her quick and accurate thinking. In the past (as in approximately 250 years ago) she was never all that great at making out what his images meant. But now… she was getting _good _at this.

"But that is where problem lies!" North sighed, rubbing his face and pacing around the globe room anxiously. "Jack will not see what we see! He-…" the guardian of wonder went silent, freezing in his tracks and looking down at the ground shamefully. "It is because we were not there for him," he admitted sullenly, earning equally saddened and guilty looks from the others. "It is because, to him, we are merely acquaintances, just barely past the point of being strangers…" North closed his eyes, slowly shaking his head. "Had we not neglected him all this time, at least had the decency to _explain _to him who he was and why he couldn't be seen, then maybe he would trust us. But because of all those years in solitude, he will not take our concern lightly. It will be hard for him to open up to us, and will take time… he is remote in more ways than one…"

Before North could elaborate this, Baby tooth came barging in through one of the closed windows and frantically began scanning the room for her leader. She was rapidly chirping and gesturing and flying around in little circles.

"Baby Tooth? What's wrong?" Toothiana's motherly instincts chimed in as she offered a cupped hand for her little fairy to sit in. Baby Tooth took a seat in it gratefully, catching her breath as her leader gently stroked her feathers with her thumb. When she could finally speak without gasping for air, Baby Tooth spilled out what she saw, careful not to go too into detail in fear of working up her leader.

Nonetheless, this happened anyway. "What?" She growled. "Jack and Bunny are doing _what!?_"

"Tooth," North spoke, "I cannot speak fairy. Please tell me what's going on."

With a bone chilling glare, Tooth looked up to the two guardians. "She said that Jack and Bunny were fighting-"

"Well, that's not much of a surprise, they always-"

"But Jack was really angry, and they looked like they wanted to kill each other!"

"…Again, I am not very surprised."

"And Baby Tooth says she heard something about a deal they formed… deal or not, I want to see what's going on here." Before she fly out the window to Burgess, Sandy leapt in front of her. His glistening golden hands waved an X in the air as he slowly floated back down to the ground. Tooth and North watched as he created an image of Bunny and himself looking at each other intently, and then it changed to Jack and Bunny yelling to each other.

"Sandy's saying that… he knew of the fight beforehand, and didn't stop Bunny because…" the images shifted, showing the two shaking hands and then to a tic tac toe chart. "Because Bunny was going to form a deal with him, sort of like a game…?" the dream sand picture changed again, this time with a sign that said WIN: STAY, LOSE: POLE. North sighed. "Tooth, what do you make of that?"

She rubbed her temples as Sandy huffed impatiently. He _really _didn't want to have to literally spell it out for them. That would be embarrassing for all of them.

"Hold on, I think… Are you saying, that if Jack lost this game, he'd have to hold up the deal by coming back to the Pole?" Immediately, Sandy's eyes lit up, and an ear-to-ear grin appeared on his face. "And that if he won the game, he could stay at Burgess?" the guardian of dreams nodded, flashing Tooth a thumbs-up. His encouraging gestures were cut short by a blur of blue and gray coming up from a hole in the ground beside him.

The tunnel opening closed up behind him as Bunny chuckled at the expression on Sandman's face. The look was questioning, as if he were saying _so how'd it go?_

"Ah won myself a bet, mate."

His expression changed to a slightly demanding, more doubtful one once his eyes landed on the wriggling cursing Jack flung over the Pooka's shoulder. It was almost like a deadpan expression, as if he were saying _Really?_

Upon noticing the unconvinced look on his face, Bunny sighed in irritation. "Hey, the drongo was runnin'! Ah couldn't just stand there! And yes, I was fair, alright? Honest." Sandy's stern expression wavered, only to be replaced with surprise as an angry Tooth fluttered past him and hovered dangerously close to the guardian of hope.

"E. Aster Bunnymund, you've got some _serious _explaining to do!" She chided, pointing a finger at the winter spirit carelessly tossed over his shoulder like a bag of garbage. Jack was desperately trying to free himself from the iron grip around his middle with one hand, while the other simply dangled down Bunny's back. Quite an amusing sight if you were seeing it from a certain angle, however.

Bunny took a cautious step back, using his free hand to briefly scratch the tuft of fur on his chest before continuing. "Relax, sheila. We were just roughhousin' a pinch."

North stepped in between Tooth and Bunny as a precaution before he pointed to Sandy. "Sandy tells me you and Jack had formed a deal of some kind. I would like to know what happened. Can you please explain?"

"Gladly," Jack spat, momentarily ceasing his struggling and peering at the others from under Bunny's arm as he spoke. "The kangaroo jumped me, tricked me, _stabbed _me, then kidnapped m- oof!" The Pooka dropped him onto the floor and scoffed.

"Ya bloody wanker! I barely even prodded ya with the thing!"

Jack shot the glaring bunny an incredulous look. "Barely pro-?! Does this look like a fucking prod to you, Cottontail?" he pointed to his bloody shoulder, earning a collective gasp from Tooth and Sandy (well… if Sandy could gasp).

North helped Jack to his feet with a fatherly demeanor about him. "Jack, mind your language please, the elves pick up on everything."

"Wha- the elves don't even talk!" Jack argued. "So why both-"

"About this deal," North interrupted the winter spirit, glancing back at Bunny. "Who won, and what are terms?"

Bunny bore a shit eating grin as he haughtily pointed a thumb at himself. "I did. An' the kid agreed tah stay at the Pole so we can-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, _whoa._" Jack interjected, coming between a smug bunny and an interrogative Russian. "Okay. First of all, I did not agree to _anything. _I was unwillingly dragged here. Second, Bunny _cheated_,"

Bunny couldn't help but to laugh at how childish the statement sounded. "There were no rules, mate. Ah couldn't have-"

"It doesn't matter! It wasn't fair and you know it!"

"How can it not be fair if I didn't break the rules?"

"Wha-?! There were no rules to break!"

"Exactly. So I won fair an' square."

"Ugh!" Jack hollered, clutching his fists and walking up to Bunny angrily. "Don't give me that shit, you stupid kanga- oww!" Jack felt a stinging sensation on his back, and the impact from his attacker sent him sprawling forward into Bunny. Jack immediately recoiled, pushing himself off of the pooka and flipping around to glare at whoever it was that whipped him.

Sandy stood before him with a discerning stare, one hand gripping a small makeshift sand whip and the other waving a finger at him, as if to say _think again. _

"Dude! What the fuck was that- Oww!" Jack blocked the weak blows with his arms, but was still shocked at Sandy's unclear hostility… that is, unclear until Sandy gestured to his mouth and a bar of soap appeared above his head. Above the bar of soap, in cursive hand writing, the sand read _Watch your mouth_. Jack groaned and ran his hand through his hair when it hit him. He was his staff?

"Where's my staff?" he vocalized his thoughts, glancing at his empty hands, then to North, then back to his hands, and then finally to Sandy. Sandy shrugged his shoulders. _How am I supposed to know where you put your staff? _Was written all over his face. Jack turned and glared at Bunny, his nostrils flaring in frustration and his eyes almost clenched all the way shut. "Where is it?!" he couldn't believe he'd forgotten about it for this long. By now, it wouldn't surprise him if _he _had found it.

Bunny snorted. "Calm down, ya gumby. S' probably back in Burgess where you dropped it at your arse."

"No, no no no, I _need _my staff!" Jack spat out, his breath quickening and his eyes growing wide with fear. Unbeknownst to him, his arms and legs began to tremble slightly. He turned his attention back to Bunny. "You have to take me back to get it!"

"Ah don't _have _to do anything."

"Bunny, please! Just really fast, so I can-"

"So you can make a break for it again? Oh, I don't think so, mate."

"You don't understand, Bunny! I can't- you-you don't know what he'll do with it, I need it with me!"

North's eyebrows furrowed. "What _he'll do with it? _Who's _he, _Jack?"

Jack bit his lower lip fiercely, reminding himself that none of them knew about that incident, nor did they really need to find out about it. "…no-nothing, I just need it with me, I can't have it away from me, I-"

"Jack, it's okay." Tooth reassured, placing a hand on his good shoulder and looking him in the eye. "We'll go get it. But for now, let's just get you all cleaned up, alright?"

Before Tooth could whisk him away to the infirmary, Sandy tugged on Jack's sleeve. The winter spirit peered over and saw that the little golden fairy was trying to ask him something. Jack knelt down to better see what he was trying to project to him through the pictures of bandages and first aid kits, but as soon as he was about the same height as him, the keeper of dreams placed a hand on Jack's injured shoulder. Jack winced at the burning feeling and looked over to see just what Sandy was doing to his arm. From the cuff of the Sandman's robe, a long wispy trail of dreamsand tinted with a pale lilac color began entering the wound, earning another hiss of pain from the guardian of fun. But the pain began to fade away, replaced by the strange sensation of numbness instead of the unbearable throbbing that was there moments prior. Sandy shot Jack a comforting look, and above his head sand formed the words _feel better?_

The winter sprite chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, thanks little man… heh, I think it's safe to say that you've got some pretty neat tricks up your sleeves, am I right?"

The Sandman chuckled, the sound of shifting sand resounding in the globe room as new words formed above his head. _Want to see something cool?_

Jack looked up to the other guardians, only to see that they've pretty much dispersed. Tooth was harshly whispering something to a fearful looking Bunny in the corner and North was speaking with the yetis surrounded around the globe. He looked back to sandman, who created a cloud of golden sand beneath their feet whilst he was distracted.

Jack smirked. "Looks like I'm going regardless. Alright, short stuff, let's go,"

Sandy carefully maneuvered the cloud of sand they were sitting upon out the window.

* * *

\_Author's Note: I called Sandy a fairy because, as you might already know, you don't need a pair of wings to be one, and in the movie when Pitch said "No more Christmas or Easter or little fairies that come in the night…" the last part was directed to both Tooth and Sandy. So yeah. And I said robe cuz… well it looks like a robe to me at least…_

_Something I think I did fairly well on: Bunny and Jack's bickering. :)_

_Something I think I totally marred: the magical healing dreamsand bit :(_

_Thank you for the cookies and reviews, I enjoy them so… but now North's feeling a tad bit jealous XD_

_969~696_


	5. Sanctuary

_Author's Note: Have you ever forgotten that your Top Ramen is up on the stove and come back to it later and see that what you're now having for lunch is a sort of noodle puree? XD lol whelp. That happened. Sorry for late update, uber busy with my crappy life :(_

* * *

Rated T for cutting (hey no cussing in this cha- oh wait… never mind :3) and cussing

"So, uh… what're we doing here again?" Jack questioned the golden spirit as they wandered through the long serpentine halls of the… well, whatever it was. Jack had assumed that it was an age-old abandoned library after seeing the endless rows of dusty bookshelves lined with even older books and stacks of yellowing paper. But as they walked deeper into the eerie stone building, the books were gradually replaced with locked chests and containers of the like. Deeper still, there was a wide variety of antique objects, which consisted of what seemed like a little bit of everything doused with dust and vacant cobwebs. Jack inspected the different items that engulfed the shelves inquisitively as they passed. Hourglasses, teddy bears, monocles, keys, a dying bouquet of gray roses… all of which looked to be untouched for centuries. He had to admit, it was kind of cool.

The winter spirit returned his attention to the Sandman and managed to skit to a halt before he could accidentally run him over. The dream keeper stopped in front of a thick brown book and was carefully pulling it off the shelf.

"We came all this way to read a dictionary?" He joked. Jack looked back at the items on the bookshelf as Sandy impatiently sifted through the books contents, and squinted to make out a familiar shape sitting on a bundle of papers in the far back of the shelf. It looked sort of like a memory capsule from the Tooth Palace, only painted black. The newest guardian shot a sneaky sideways glance at Sandy; he was completely ensnared in his task, which must have been trying to find a certain page in the book. Upon seeing this, Jack smirked wickedly and plucked the capsule off the shelf to better inspect it. It looked exactly like the capsule that held _his _teeth, except the parts that were supposed to be gold were black and the design on the flat side was made up of Xs and not diamonds. Jack tilted the container and looked at the face on the side. It was of a pale girl with medium auburn hair and a mischievous smirk much like his own, wearing a black baseball cap backwards upon her head. But if these were a child's memories, then what were they doing down here?

Sandy tugged at Jack's sleeve, and upon getting his full attention, swiped the memory capsule from his hand with a stern look. The words, _Don't touch! _appeared over his head in dreamsand.

"W-well, shouldn't we give it to Tooth? It belongs back at her palace doesn't it?"

Sandy shook his head no, and the sand words above his head changed. _Dark spirit memories must be kept separate._

"Oh," Jack mumbled, and thought to himself, _Sure. Whatever that means. _Sandy replaced the capsule back up on the shelf and picked up the book again, this time handing it to Jack. While Jack would've said that the book was just too heavy for him in the first place, his strength had dwindled significantly. He was forced to sit down and allow the book to rest on his lap because his frail arms could barely hold it up. The winter spirit opened the cover and scrolled over the first page curiously, which looked to be neatly written in bold black ink, but in a manner that confused the poor boy.

_**Yes.**_

_**No, I will tell him myself.**_

_**Well, I will make use of it!**_

_**I suppose we should check on Harriet.**_

_**Why not?**_

_**That makes sense… later then…**_

The rest of the writing went on like this, as if only half of a conversation was documented. Still fairly confused, Jack flipped the page and inspected the words on the other side, hoping that maybe the other part of the conversation would be there, only to see that it was the same. Jack flipped the crumbling pages, each time expelling a mini cloud of dust and breaking the awkward silence with the crinkling of the ancient pages. After what to be at least a dozen pages, the writing abruptly stopped in the middle of the page.

_**I have to go. I wish you lu **_was all that was written here. Jack looked up to Sandy questioningly, who was staring off into space, deep in thought. _Most likely thinking about ways to _fix _me, what's wrong with me… _Jack's thoughts wavered as he thumbed through the back paged of the book. All of them were blank.

"Uh…what's the point of this, exactly?" Jack asked, gesturing to the unfinished ink context on the half empty page. Sandy grinned, placing a finger on the book and nodding to the paper, the look on his face clearly reading _look again._

"C'mon, Sandy! There's nothing-" The guardian of fun argued as he looked back down to the page once more. "…here…" his voice trailed off after seeing the new text that was written upon the page.

_**Well, it's much more convenient than constantly having to use my dreamsand!**_

"Y-you…? Did you write this?" Jack marveled, tapping the yellowing page with his index finger. He quickly withdrew it as his own words were scrawled below Sandy's.

_**Did you write this?**_

The winter sprite looked back up to Sandy, whose hand was now resting against the opposite page. New writing began to form under Jack's unintentional statement.

_**Careful, the pages are enchanted. Your words, either spoken or thought, are written onto the paper if your hand is on the page.**_

"Wicked… Can I try it again?"

_**Okay, just this once.**_

Jack stifled a chuckle and placed his pale finger back on the page.

_**Hi**_

_**Hi**_

_**Hi**_

_**Hi**_

_**Hi**_

_**Hi**_

_**Hi**_

_**Hi**_

_**Hi**_

_**Hi**_

Sandy's dreamsand sifted as his belly racked with laughter and he swatted Jack (who was madly giggling to himself) away from the page with an ear-to-ear grin.

_**Okay, I think that's enough messing with the enchanted pages for you!**_

As Jack's gut bursting laughter resonated off the stone walls, he nimbly readjusted the arm beneath the heavy book so that his hands weren't too close to the book's pages. He chuckled.

"That's awesome,"

_**I told you it would be cool!**_

"Where'd ya get it?" Jack inquired, staring down at the page awaiting a response.

_**A close friend of mine just threw it together for me because my sand pictographs weren't really working as a good form of communication.**_

"Well your friend and I can relate!" Jack laughed.

_**In more ways than one, I'm afraid. In fact, she reminds me of you, especially in terms of language! I don't think I've ever met a spirit with such a potty-mouth… besides you, of course.**_

"Alright alright," Jack said, eager to change the subject. "So, these pages are supposed to speak for you, in a way?"

_**Precisely.**_

"Then what's it doing down here?"

_**My friend and I agreed to leave it here so that both of us can access it… it's a good tool for telling others what you can't manage to say out loud.**_

"Man, I need one of these…hey, uh, speaking of which, where's _here_? What is this place, like an underground spirit public library, or basement storage maybe?"

_**It's known to many spirits as Sanctuary. It's a place where all kinds of spirits, most commonly those who have no residual space or those who are constantly moving, can leave their belongings. These belongings - from both their mortal life and their immortal one - can be stored here without having to worry about them being stolen or tampered with.**_

"Cool… so do the other Guardians use it too?"

Sandy thought about this for a moment or two before responding.

_**North stores some spare toys and coal here… I think Bunny stored some paints and brushes here not too long ago, and Tooth keeps the dark spi**_

The writing automatically paused when Jack spoke. "Whoa, wait! … Bunny's stuff is down here too?" a devious look consumed his smile, spreading to his bright blue eyes and infecting them with a malicious sparkle. Sandy snapped his fingers in front of Jack's face, pulling his attention from his fantasy of revenge to the new ink text on the page.

_**Don't even think about it. The whole reason it's in Sanctuary is to keep you from messing with it.**_

Jack huffed, mumbling something inaudible but most likely childish under his breath before unknowingly zoning out, forcing Sandy to again snap his fingers and redirect his attention to the new words.

_**Bunny cares about you, you know? He was just trying t**_

"What?" Jack laughed sardonically. "He doesn't care about _me_! He doesn't care about anyone but his _googies _and hi-" the stern look he received from Sandy made him too afraid to finish his comment. He looked back down to the book.

_**Bunny wouldn't hurt your shoulder like that unless it was for a good reason, or just to get you to listen. Were you deliberately disregarding what he was saying to you? Or did you instigate something?**_

Jack's facial expression gave it away.

_**Look, I don't know you as well as I do Bunny, but knowing that you're still technically a teenager and always have to have the last word**_

"Hey!" Jack whined.

_**Odds are you were just reciprocating. What did he do to make you mad?**_

Jack shifted uneasily, suddenly uncomfortable with where this was going. He gnawed on his lower lip nervously.

"Well, uh… you know, he uh… he said some things…"

Sandy glanced up at Jack as the boy gripped the book mercilessly, his bright blue eyes looking a bit waterier than they were before. He knew all too well that there was more to it, but decided to leave it alone. What good would it do by making the poor kid feel trapped? He swiftly changed the subject.

_**You know, this place is at least 700 years old, and this is only the first floor. Care for a tour?**_

"…Eh, why not?"

* * *

Bunny was not expecting it.

Of all things he wasn't expecting to see, it had to be this?

Jack never really struck him as the _type _of spirit to cut. It just didn't fit him. Then again, how could Bunny say that after mistreating him all those years? How can he say that about Jack when he barely even knew the bloke? Come to think of it, he didn't think that _anyone _really knew him enough to judge him like that.

Bunnymund kept reminiscing back to that moment, that one moment when he caught a glimpse of Jack's red wrists, and then looked back up to meet the terror on his face. That heartbreaking, unbearable look of terror that said to him _he knows. Oh my god, he knows. _The look that meant he was too scared to move, too scared to even take a breath…. Something that Bunny and the others couldn't stand to see on him or any child.

As odd as it sounded, he didn't really feel bad for stabbing the kid; obviously it was the only way to get the bloody drongo to understand what he was trying to say. He just wouldn't _listen_. Was it that hard to understand? "You need help, and if you're too stubborn to accept it, you just might die," … okay, granted, it didn't necessarily go like that word for word… alright, it didn't sound like that at all. In fact, the way Bunny tried to express his worry for Jack could easily be called cruel and unusual, but he swears he didn't mean for it to escalate like that. Sometimes Jack could just be so…

"Uugh!" The Pooka exclaimed out of frustration, and the sound echoed off of the stone corridors of Sanctuary. He'd found Jack's staff, unharmed and under a protective layer of snow. He was surprised at how light it was, how frail it was. It was because of this that it reminded him of Jack. A frail, skinny little thing that looked as if it would snap if under too much pressure. Yup, that was Jack, all right. Jack was easily under 110 pounds, too easy to flop over your shoulder like a bag of wheat, but too fragile to toss around like a rag doll.

"_I'm not going anywhere," Jack huffed, clambering up from the ground with his good arm and glaring holes through Bunny. "You fucking cheated."_

"_No ah didn't,"_

"_Yes you did, and you know it! It's not fair!" Jack turned around and began to walk away. "I'm not gonna go wi- whoah!" Jack's statement was cut short as Bunny hopped in front of him and nonchalantly flung him over his shoulder._

"_Wha- hey! What the- fuck?! Hey! Put- me- down!" The injured winter sprite demanded. His breath was knocked out of him every time Bunny took a step, resulting in a fairly awkward, but funny sounding Jack Frost._

_Bunny couldn't help but to laugh. "Why should I do that, mate?"_

"_So I- can kick- your ass!"_

"_Mmm nope. I don't think ah will."_

"_Bu- nny!"_

It was funny how the whole thing played out. Well, funny for Bunny at least. He couldn't really say the same for Jack at that point.

Speaking of Jack… where was he?

Bunnymund knew he was somewhere in Sanctuary. He followed his scent here, and as he kept going down the stairs to the other floors, it was getting stronger. Sandy must've taken him down here to get his mind off of all the stuff that was going on. Bunny's ears slightly drooped as a twinge of guilt overtook him. After Jack just stopped worrying about everything, he would be the one to just bring it back up to the kid. Great.

He saw the two guardians sitting in one of the hallways in the sixth floor (well technically it was the -6th floor, but that wasn't important). Sandy was showing him an old photo album with a gentle smirk upon his golden face, and Jack was smiling too, a sight that Tooth as well as himself absolutely couldn't get enough of; for Tooth, because she loved his teeth, of course. For Bunny, because it meant he forgot everything wrong going on in the world around him. Because it fooled the Pooka for a split second into thinking that their newest guardian was okay.

But he wasn't.

* * *

"That's _you_?" the winter spirit lightheartedly laughed as he pointed at one of the photos in the album. Sandy nodded vigorously, and then pointed to the being beside him in the picture.

"Aw…no way…"

"Oi! Frostbite!" Bunny called. Jack looked up to the Pooka as he sprinted down the hallway, the staff in his paw. But the staff wasn't why Jack stood up excitedly and came to meet him halfway.

Before Bunny could speak, Jack giggled, "You had a _Mohawk?!_"

The Easter Bunny groaned. Sandy was showing him _that _photo album.

"'Alrigh', listen, it was just for a Halloween Party and I lost a bet prior, now here's your sta-"

"You _still _have a Mohawk!?" Jack exclaimed, leaning forward and rubbing the soft fur in between Bunny's ears. His ears & tail twitched, and his foot would've began to thump the ground had he not grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand away gently. "Hey! 'S not a Mohawk," he said sternly, slightly shaking the hand in his grasp for emphasis.

Jack cracked up, his laughter resounding off the walls. "Yeah it is, dude!"

Bunny's deadpan expression to the winter sprite slowly shifted to Sandy. "North wants Jack back up at the Pole now, Sanderson, and he wants ta meet you at Tooth's."

Jack moaned in annoyance. "What!? Back to the prison!? Whyyyyyyyyy-"

"Many reasons, Jack. The first being that North needs someone to watch his Workshop while he goes somewhere with Tooth."

"Well why don't the yetis-"

"Second, you lost our game, and you said you would."

Jack huffed. "Cuz you chea-"

"And _third_," Bunny said loudly as to be heard over Jack's childish ranting. Sandy, who was engrossed in the photo album, didn't notice Bunny's serious tone, which came down to just above a whisper so that only him and Jack could hear it.

"You an' I need tah talk 'bout somethin, mate," Bunnymund said, giving the thin wrist that was still in his paw a firm squeeze. Jack winced at the stinging that traveled down his arm and looked up at Bunny incredulously, who seemed unmoved as his eyes dug into his own. They were full of his secrets.

Jack knew what he planned to talk to him about then and there.

And he really, _really _wasn't looking forward to it.

* * *

_I HAD NO TIME TO EDIT I WILL DO SO LATER THANK YOU FOR UNDERSTANDING_

_Author's Note: So I was watching this little kid show, Wild Kratts, with my little brothers, and it has a pretty catchy intro song. I caught myself singing it in public out of boredom. It's just so catchy XD_

_~~~Review and you'll have a chance to win! … ha just kidding, you won't win anything… except a chapter update much sooner than this one was : ) Seems legit, amIright?_

_Next chapter there will be angst/drama, fluff, then back to angst (in that order). :D_

_969~696_


	6. Breaking Falls (As Well As Habits)

_Author's Note: __100 reviews! :D (insert party here) Haha, thanks again for reading and reviewing guys, seriously, I appreciate it more than your tiny human brains could possibly comprehend (…damn…haha jk guys I love you)._

_COMIC VERSION?***In other news, I just got new sketchbooks, and they're itching to be drawn in. I was thinking to myself when I was bored the other day, what the f*ck am I gonna use all this for, and aside from my own comic I've been working on, I've come to a decision.__** Once this fanfic manages 200 reviews, I'll draw a comic version of it and post the pages up on my deviant art account for the world to see. **__I know, it seems totally unfair, but the sooner the reviews reach 200, the sooner I'll start posting the comic version (and unfortunately, spam doesn't count). If you'd like to see some of my work (please don't get discouraged upon seeing it, I'm always learning) my deviant art profile name is KuraiTeiruzu696. If you have a dA, hit me up ;D. Yes, if you were wondering, I drew the Jack Frost for this book cover. I have to change it, cuz I have the cover page for Frostrauma done already... if I ever get to draw it ;D I splurge post on dA every two weeks (once Frostrauma reaches 200 reviews, I'll try uploading more often)._

_Again, thanks so much for reading (all your reviews make my day!) and sharing your opinions with me, I hope you enjoy the story as it takes its unfathomably depressing and unreasonably angst-y course. _

_FINALLY A FLUFFY (albeit hella long) CHAPTER… right after I try and make you cry. _

_~~PLEASE NOTE THAT SPIRITS CAN'T REALLY DIE~~_

Rated T for self-abuse, suicidal themes, some violence, a descriptive scene of physical harm, feels that will probably make you cry, and of course, the unnecessary overuse of foul language (what else? Even though it's not as bad this chapter)

* * *

_From the other side of the door, Jack heard the muffled sound of shifting sand, and he assumed that it was Sandy's turn to speak… well, not speak per se, but to show them what he was thinking on the matter through gold sand pictures._

_"So he has not been sleeping lately?" North implied, and Sandy continued._

_When Sandman finished with whatever he was saying, Tooth let out a startled cry and North let out a "No… Rimsey Korsakov, what have we done?…"_

_Bunny remained silent._

'_What? What!? What did Sandy tell you I was doing!?' Jack urged in his thoughts, taking a deep breath to steady him from collapsing then and there. No. There was no way. Why would they sit back and watch him all those years alone, and then bring it up now just because he was a Guardian!? Jack usually vomited when he cried too much. But he always cried before. Why was it such a big issue now? And what could've been causing all the sullen responses from the Guardians? Just what did Sandy say to them? Did Sandy know of-_

[2 weeks prior to first chapter's events]

Sandy was the only one who knew about it back then.

The golden guardian saw it from a mile away, and discreetly flew over to better see just what the kid was doing.

The first time Sandman saw it, he was mortified. Why would he do that? _Why on earth would he do that?_

Curious as to what he was doing, Sandy swiftly glided closer, his dream cloud nearly skimming the ground as he looked up to the night sky inquisitively, squinting to make out the dark figure as it shot up into the air. Jack looked to be flying as high as he could… trying to find something, maybe? Before the winter spirit became a guardian, Sandy often heard Jack talking to himself. It was normal to pass by one late evening delivering dreams and hearing Jack just rambling to himself about the most random things. He supposed it was a way of coping with the loneliness (Sandy wished he could have stopped by and talked to him, but he had dreams to deliver; he was far too busy), by talking to the wind, or the children that couldn't see him. Sometimes it was directed to the trees, other times, to the lake. But most of the time, he spoke to the Man in the Moon. He recalled how on one night in particular, while he was flying over Burgess and delivering dreams, Jack was standing on a rooftop and asking something of the Moon with a bitterly distraught look upon his face. Therefore, the guardian of dreams really wouldn't be surprised if Jack was just flying up to have a one-on-one conversation with the Moon.

Sandy chuckled. He had let his sixth sense get the best of him and worry him for no reason it seemed. He was slowly turning to fly away when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw it.

Jack was rapidly falling back down to earth, his staff falling beside him and not in his hand where it belonged. And Jack's eyes were closed. And he was _smiling._

Sandy would've helped him; he would've caught the poor boy had he not been paralyzed with fear. But the fact of the matter was that, he just couldn't bring himself to move, too ensnared with the horrific scene that was taking place before him.

Jack crashed into the earth with a thud, overshadowed by a series of sickening cracks and snaps. A deep daunting wail emitted from the crumpled spirits lips and filled Sandy's eardrums, which immediately startled him out of his temporary paralysis. He hopped off his dream cloud and began to make his way toward the crippled spirit, focusing his mind and forming a telepathic connection to Jack as he did so (in hopes of keeping him awake through his mind), and abruptly came to a halt.

All of Jack's thoughts flooded Sandy's mind, as if Jack's mind wasn't large enough to contain all of them and they seeped into whoever's mind it was connected to. Sandy's heart stopped when he realized that his thoughts merely composed of a slur of voices, most of which Sandy recognized right off the bat.

"_We should never have trusted you!"_

"_Your greatest fear is that no one will ever believe in you,"_

"_You were chosen like we were all chosen: by Man in Moon."_

"_And worst of all, you're afraid you'll never know why."_

"_But none a them believe in ya, do they? You're INVISIBLE, mate. 'S like ya don't even exist."_

"_Why you were chosen to be like this; unseen, unable to reach out to anyone!"_

"_Ho-hold on! I'm… I'm sorry… I didn't mean for this to happen-"_

"_He has to go,"_

"_Stop it, _stop it_!"_

"_You want the answers so badly… you want to grab them and run off with them,"_

"_I'm a Bunny."_

"_But you're afraid of what the _Guardians _might think. You're afraid of disappointing them,"_

"_The _Easter. Bunny._"_

"_Jack… what have you done?"_

"_Well let me ease your mind on one thing: They'll never accept you. Not really… because you're not one of them,"_

"_You were with Pitch!?"_

"_You don't know what I am!"_

"_Of course I do: you're Jack Frost!"_

"_If I'm doing something wrong, could you just… tell me what it is? Because I've tried everything and no one ever sees me!"_

"_You make a mess wherever you go; why, you're doing it RIGHT NOW."_

"_You put me here! The least you could do is…"_

"_What did you do?"_

"…_tell me why…"_

"_More to the point Jack… what did YOU do?"_

"_People BELIEVE in ME."_

Sandy broke the connection, falling to his knees as his own mind recovered from the unexpected memory flood. He shook his head in disbelief. All of his memories… they were ridden with so much sadness and self-loathing to the extent where Sandy couldn't withstand maintaining the mental connection. Goosebumps spread like frost down the dream spirit's back at the thought of being forced to endure them. He couldn't even begin to imagine what Jack was feeling.

Jack… Sandy refused to believe that the fall was intentional. He must have accidentally dropped his staff.

Upon returning his attention to Jack, Sandy stood up and once again attempted to move closer to the boy, and again, he paused. Jack was picking himself up from the ground, his body racking with sobs and short, rapid breaths. Using his staff as leverage, he clambered up from the dirt and tried to stand on his own two feet. He winced and toppled back over, releasing a wretched moan that echoed throughout the woods. After a few seconds, after Sandy was now almost 20 feet away from him and still gone unnoticed, Jack forced himself up, and began flying up in the air again.

This time, Sandy followed him, staying below him so that he wouldn't stand out among the clouds. He wanted to tell himself, _see? He was just going somewhere. His staff must've slipped from his fingers at how fast he was going._

Sandy was never able to tell himself this.

Jack stopped and hovered in the air, unbeknownst that Sandy was not far from him, watching him anxiously. He shuddered.

"Man in Moon…" Jack sighed, before deliberately releasing his staff and sent spiraling back down to the earth with it.

And before Sandy could maneuver his dream cloud to assist Jack, he was flying back up, his face covered with tearstains as well as thick, dark blood.

_Jack! Stop! _A voice in the back of Jack's mind told him, the voice that was his own but was being manipulated by Sandy's telepathy. Jack paid no heed to it, and let go of his staff again.

Sandy tried to help him. He tried to get his attention by floating closer to him in his path of view, but his eyes were clenched shut, and he wouldn't stop rising and falling and rising and falling! So Sandy just used his telepathy, enduring the carnivorous thoughts that flooded his own as the guardian of dreams connected their minds.

_Jack! Please, stop! Why are you doing this to yourself!? Stop!_

Jack disregarded every word; that, or he couldn't hear them, his ears ringing with the same thoughts that flooded Sandy's.

"_He… he talks to you?"_

"_You see, you cannot say no… it is destiny…"_

"_After 300 years and this is his answer? To spend eternity cooped up in a hideout thinking of new ways to-to bribe kids!?"_

"_Jack! I'm scared!"_

"_They never really trusted you… I just wanted to show you that…"_

Sandy looked down at the spirit, his eyes spilling with tears and his own body shaking with silent sobs as he watched the horrific scene replay itself over and over again. He reached for Jack, whose white hair could've been mistaken for auburn at this point, and whose bloodshot blue eyes stood out from the red dripping from his face. Jack's face - the pale, mischief ridden one that constantly smiled and joked and said stuff to make people laugh - was obscured in a mask of red regret and an invisible pain.

_Jack! STOP! Look at me! It's San-_

But an incessant nagging in the back of the Sandman's mind caused him to break the connection, just in time for Jack to fall back down again.

There were dreams that Sandy had to deliver. There were children that had to be sleeping right about now, nightmares to fend off, believers to protect. And as much as Sandy wanted to help Jack, wanted to keep him from rising and falling, rising and falling, as much as he wanted to personally step in to stop it… there were children in need of a good night's sleep. Children whose job was his to take care of. That, and Jack would stop once he "died", then he'd just have to wait until his body recovered, and he'd be good as new. Therefore, there really wasn't any reason to panic like this, was there? The sandman had dreams to deliver, children to lull asleep…

After all, Sandy's duty wasn't to another spirit, guardian or no.

His duty was to the children, just like all the other guardians.

* * *

[present; back at the Pole]

The tension was suffocating.

The pole was no longer the center of wonder and imagination. It was the center of anything and everything uncomfortable and unbearable. And Jack did not want to be here.

Bunny rested against the control panel in front of the globe, spinning one of his boomerangs in his paw and staring at Jack expectantly. The winter spirit gnawed on his lower lip, sitting criss-cross in front of the fireplace and staring back with a clueless expression.

It got to the extent where Jack couldn't handle the dreadful silence. He had to say _something._

"Sooooo…" he began to say, looking out the snowy window longingly with gleaming blue eyes. "…well, this is oodles of fun, but uh… can-can I go outside now?"

"No." Bunny spat.

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"_No._"

"Please?"

"Jack." Bunnymund said sternly, shooting the newest guardian a strict glare. Jack went silent again, wringing his hands nervously as Bunny sighed.

The spirit of spring remembered what Sandy told him before leaving for the Pole from Sanctuary, his eyes full of worry and concern while he transmitted the telepathic message.

_Bunny, when you talk to him, please don't be so hostile. He's confused, and he's just a kid after all. If you get aggressive with him, it'll get you both nowhere, fast._

It was harder than it sounded. Winter and spring didn't coincide to begin with anyways. And Bunny cared for him, sure, but there was just something about the boy that pushed him over the edge. His sarcastic mouth, his refusal to accept help, his denial on the matter of his health, the constant snowing out of his warren; oh, the list was endless. And how Bunny reacted to this just sort of… happened.

Take the whole fight at the pole for instance...

"_After 300 years, this is his answer?" Jack spat, running a hand through his hair and shaking his head in disbelief. "To spend eternity cooped up in some-some _hideout _thinking of-of new ways, t-to _bribe kids_!? Oh no… that's _not _for me!" Jack hollered, chucking his fist down in frustration and glaring holes through the moon, before his expression faltered and changed into that of surprise as the realization dawned on him. "No offense," he said as he turned to the guardians._

_Of course Bunny took offense. The spirit just insulted his title, his lifestyle. And at that point, he really didn't care how long the boy was alone, which in an of itself was a mistake. He didn't very much like this spirit at the time, and could care less how he felt. He just cared about redemption._

"_How-how is that not offensive?" Bunnymund said firmly as he moved a little ways forward. He came to a stop and chuckled. "You know, I think we jus' dodged a bullet. I mean what's this _clown _know about bringin' joy ta children anyway?" The Pooka knelt down in his default rabbit position and used one of his feet to itch a scratch below his cheek. Jack sighed in irritation, his back turned to the guardian to better conceal both his pain and his annoyance._

"_Uhh, you ever hear of a Snow Day?" Jack questioned as if the rabbit were stupid, slowly beginning to turn around and using over exaggerated gesticulations as he continued. "I know it's no _hard-boiled egg _but kids LIKE what I do."_

_The response was all too easy. It would've escaped Bunny's lips whether he thought about it or not. "But none of them believe in you, do they?" Bunny said, standing up to his full height and taking a step forward, a malicious glint in his eye. "You see, you're _invisible_ mate. It's like you don't even exist."_

_Jack looked down at his feet and chuckled._

_Bunny bore a smug grin. He'd gotten to him._

"_Bunny! Enough." Tooth said to him. Jack flung his staff over his shoulder and spoke regularly._

"_No, no. The kangaroo's right."_

_In Jack's mind, Bunny was messing with him, playing some sort of sick game with him in hopes of getting him to break. Unbeknownst to him, Jack was a master at games. Two could play at this one, and no doubt Jack would be the one to win._

"_The-the _what?_" Bunny asked with a startled expression, earning the winter spirit a quick pang of satisfaction. "What did you call me?" He began to walk forward, ears slightly drawn back and his eyes set in an angry glare. "I'm NOT a kangaroo, mate."_

_Jack couldn't help himself. Pushing his buttons were just too much fun. "And this whole time I thought you were. Well," Jack swallowed the quick jolt of fear he felt when the Bunny had begun advancing on him with a livid expression, and instead stared at him with an equally angry look. "If you're not a kangaroo…" he leaned forward daringly. "_What _are you?"_

_Bunny reciprocated, his tone low, his infuriated face inches from Jack's._

_"I'm a bunny. The _Easter _Bunny. People _believe _in_ me_."_

_It was like a shot through the chest. It was true, and it was painful. Jack's eyes watered rapidly._

_He'd let down his walls._

_He'd lost the game._

"_Jack," North called. "Walk with me."_

_Jack couldn't move for a moment. It hurt because it was true, sending a wave of anguish as well as shame through his paralyzed body. Bunny's infuriated expression held firm, it didn't waver or diminish. And that just hurt Jack more._

_A tear spilled out over his cheek before he withdrew from the face off, and he hastily wiped it away with his sleeve, and followed after North. ..._

"Jack…" Bunny began.

_Oh, here we go, _Jack thought to himself. This was where the pep talk came in. This was the part where Bunny would tell him how bad cutting is, and how the guardians were gonna help _fix _him, and-

"I'm sorry."

Jack's train of thought crashed.

"Y-you- _what_?" was all he could manage to say as he hopped up onto his feet and rested on his staff.

Bunny's face was no longer expressionless or angry, something that Jack wasn't used to. It was composed of what the winter spirit thought must've been regret. Again, this didn't suit him, nor did the apologizing suit him.

"I'm sorry,"

"F-for what? You… _what_?" Jack's mind was reeling. This, he was not expecting.

Bunny replaced his boomerang and looked down to the ground. "For everything, Jack."

They were just words. That's all they were, right? _I'm sorry for everything, Jack. _Five words. But they were more powerful than Bunny could've ever imagined. Jack's breath caught in his throat. His grip on the staff weakened greatly. His knees trembled. Apologizing…?

Bunny, upon looking up at the boy, mistook his surprise for confusion, and he elaborated. "Ah mean… I'm sorry for- for tauntin' ya for not being believed in, and treatin' ya horrible, an' not trusting you, an' never really thanking ya for savin' my arse last Easter…" Bunny shuddered as it dawned upon him. Wow. He treated this boy like dirt for as long as he could remember. That was damn near unforgivable; but all he could do was try.

"And I'm the reason why we were even holdin' these meetings, cuz I felt bad about bein' such a jerk to ya, so I-I went to check on ya one night and you were-" He couldn't finish his sentence. _You were trying to kill yourself. You were doused with blood, and you wouldn't stop crying. _The lump in his throat finally went away and he finished speaking. "And I - I _care _about ya, Jack! So I told the othas, and then we- I - we all agreed ta keep an eye on you, j-just in case something really bad happened, and… and I'm sorry we never told you abou' them." Bunny hopped in front of Jack. "And I'm sorry for-for stabbin' ya arm with mah boomerang."

Jack remained unresponsive. He was frozen, looking up at the sullen Bunny in awe. _What do I say? What do I do!? Do I have to say anything? Do I say thanks? Do I just tell him that it's okay? Do I just tell him what's on my mind? What? _Jack's mind frantically tried to choose the right course of action, his eyes growing wetter, threatening to spill over his pale cheeks. A faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips. _He said sorry to me… He just said he cared about me…_Eventually, after having no clue as to how to go about this (no one's ever apologized to him before) he decided on the latter. Jack looked up to Bunny and cleared his throat uncomfortably as he set down his staff.

"Uh…yeah, that… that hurt like a bitch…"

Bunny laughed. No, it didn't necessarily mean all was forgiven, but it was still pretty damn funny. Jack let out a chuckled and sighed. The smile was faltering now, but it was still there.

_He said sorry to me… he just said he _cared _about me…_

The tears spilled over his cheeks before he could wipe at his eyes, which forced a few tears from Bunny's own as well. Jack was a kid. A _child_. And Bunny was oblivious as to what was going on inside his head until it trailed down his cheeks painfully slowly.

He hated seeing children cry. It was heartbreaking.

"C'mere," Bunny whispered softly and opened his arms, inviting him for a hug, clenching his eyes shut and hoping it would keep any more tears from falling. For a second, it worked.

But when Jack just weakly fell forward into him, his arms wrapping around Bunny feebly, his small frame shaking with soft cries, it just rekindled his tears; and then the both of them were crying. _He just said he _cared _about me… _Jack burrowed into the Pooka's fur, clinging to him as if his life depended on it. _He just said…_

He sobbed harder.

* * *

_Author's Note: _

_CHAPTER SONG: EASER TO RUN BY LINKIN PARK (I don't own) GOD THE FEELS; THEY'RE EATING ME ALIVE; CHEESY AS F*CK BUT I WHATEVER I LOVE IT :D ha I love how all the scenes I've written of Bunny apologizing to Jack involve crying and hugging. But hey, it works. (listen to this song; it's like this scene's theme song… or the story's theme song XD)_

_Seriously, look up this song, it's bloody depressing. (Easier to Run first part lyrics) Something has been taken from deep inside of me, a secret I've kept locked away, no one can ever see. Wounds so deep they never show, they never go away, like moving pictures in my head, for years and years they've played… D,:_

_So… so… … … … hmm. I got nothing. Well, that's a first._

_ReViEw PlEaSe AnD tHaNk YoU_

_969~696_


	7. Monster, How Should I Feel?

_Frostrauma Chapter 7: Disconnected_

_Author's Note: Well finally. Brace yourself for a plot twist. If nothing makes sense to you, please try to brave through it, because it becomes clearer towards the end of this chapter and the beginning of the next one._

_LONG(ISH) CHAPTER AHEAD BROS_

_***WARNING!*** Rated T for: Thoroughly elaborate descriptions of bloodcurdling horrific images (No language or violence yaaaay :D) well actually there is some "violence" and disturbing content, ex. blood, angst… again, some of the descriptions might seem a bit, uh, _unsettling _to say the least. Seriously. For those of you who've weak constitutions, or who can see what they read crystal clear in their minds (I forget what it's called _:_| ), please consider this before reading. It's now tilting toward more of the horror\graphic side of things now, because, well, normal's no fun. So yeah. Dark, dark, dark sh*t up in here. D: (NO PAIRINGS. NO SLASH. OKAY? OKAY.)_

_TO AVOID ANY CONFUSION, IT BEGINS WITH BEFORE BUNNY APOLOGIZES THEN SKIPS THROUGH TO WHAT HAPPENS AFTER._

* * *

It was all he wanted to hear. _I'm sorry for everything, Jack. _It seemed legit, how it played out in his head; and it seemed even better when it actually carried out in reality. And Jack wanted it more than anything, or at least something tantamount to the five words. Something that he could use to tell himself even though it might not have seemed like it, he was needed. _You're a lil brat but I still care for ya. _Yes. That would've sufficed nicely. It was all he wanted, to know that he had purpose here. A few measly words - was that too hard to ask of the Pooka? Did he even consider how he feels on the matter? Jack just wanted something that meant there was more to him than just fun and winter and mischief, even if it turned out that that's all there really was of him. An apology, a hug, a smart remark, a small head nod…

He would take anything.

_Anything at all._

Unfortunately, that's where the problem resided. It was a problem that ate at Jack all throughout his existence up to this point. There was simply nothing to take in. None of this _I'm sorry for everything Jack, _no _you're a lil brat but I still care for ya, _no hug, no smart remark, not even a small head nod. Not even a look from the Pooka after all those years.

There was just silence.

And Jack wanted to say something so bad. Right now, he wanted to say, _can I go outside now? _and then up and leave, and he was tempted to at any moment. He wanted Bunny to say _no _so that the winter spirit could have something to work off of, something to instigate with. Just because it was there for him to take. Because usually, there was nothing for him to work off of, and he was left with silence.

_Jack Frost hated silence._

It was frightening. It was awkward. It was nerve racking. It was odd. It was unbearable. It followed Jack around like a lost puppy but glowered upon him like a hungry greyhound. There had to be something in the background, and he strained his hearing to try and make something out of the paralyzing quiet, something that was _there _to work off of.

But the Pole was dead silent. The fireplace he sat next to had stopped long ago (due to his own chilly climate, no doubt), no longer emitting the pleasant sound of fire crackling and burning. The elves were somewhere else in the Pole, it seemed. There were no jingling of the bells atop their heads, seeing that there were none roaming around aimlessly at this point. There should've been the sound of toys being constructed and tested, the sound of garbling yetis scurrying around the hallways hurriedly, the sound of wind whistling through the crack of the slightly open window above them. There should've been something. There should've been _something. _Jack despised how every time he wanted quiet, the world seemed to have its volume on HIGH, and whenever he _did _want noise because he felt uncomfortable with the silence, the world contracted his discomfort and went quiet too. Murphy's Law, he thought it was what mortals called it…

Jack knew Bunny loved silence.

To him, it was calming. It was malleable. It was reassuring. It was normal. It was what he yearned for. It's what he never got to have, especially around the winter gumby. He craved it, mainly because all of that background hullabaloo hurt his sensitive ears. There didn't have to be anything to work off of for Bunny. He didn't _need _anything to work off of, like Jack did.

Jack hated silence.

So when he finally managed to break it, it felt like he had been holding his breath, and the feeling of the chilly air reentering his lungs steadied him.

"Sooooo…" he began to say, looking out the snowy window longingly as if to emphasize his eagerness to get out of this awkward situation. "…well, this is oodles of fun, but uh… can-can I go outside now?"

Jack expected the answer no.

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"_No._"

"Please?"

"Jack."

The way the Bunny said his name felt like a punch to the stomach, so Jack stopped trying. Instead, he lowered his head and stared at the ground in defeat, thinking of all the things he'd much rather talk about aside from this specific topic. _Cats. _he wasn't much of a cat person, but he would much rather talk about cats. Or maybe dogs. Or even parrots. He would rather talk about the crush Tooth had on him, because it wasn't near as awkward and self-depreciating as the one Jack knew Bunny wanted to talk about.

He seriously expected a pep talk. He braced himself for the whole "there's no reason to cut" and "we're here to help you".

So when Bunny said something else, something completely different, something that Jack had been longing to hear for longer than anything, his heart stopped. All stray thoughts ceased, and his mind drew a blank. For a second he couldn't breathe. It had always been hard to breathe around Bunny; he scared him, he angered him, he antagonized him, he misunderstood him…

But this time, it was hard to breathe because he was crying so hard. Because a floodgate within him had finally spilled over after at least one hundred and fifty years of buildup. Jack was finding it hard to breathe because he was sobbing.

And he was hugging Bunny.

And Bunny was hugging back.

Never. Never in a million years could Jack see this happening. Yet here it was. But these weren't the thoughts that ran through his mind as his tears were wiped away this time by someone else. The only words that processed were _He just said he cared about me._ No one ever told Jack that they cared about him. In his years living as a spirit, and even in the years he lived as a mortal, no one ever told him. His father, after receiving his memories, considered him more or less a disappointment. Granted, his mother loved him, but that was as expected. And he never expected Bunny, of all spirits, to say something like that to him. It felt like something inside of him just snapped in two, but for the best. It was a sharp pain, reduced to but a mere numbing throb that no longer bothered him. It was hard to explain just how it made Jack feel, but rest assured, it felt like a bullet went through his chest. Only the bullet didn't get lodged into his heart. It just followed through, the shock mostly abrupt and the pain, close to nothing.

Jack shuddered and burrowed his face into the pooka's warm fur, his tears smearing across his face and freezing into a thin sheet of frost. Funny, Jack had never expected Bunny to be so warm. Then again, he never expected to be hugged by the furball any time soon.

The winter spirit could've sworn that Bunny was crying himself, but he wasn't sure. Everything was a teary-eyed blur of fur and black. And all Jack could tell himself was _He just said he cared about me. _

* * *

Bunny didn't really know what to think about this silence.

This silence wasn't one made up of tension, and it wasn't an eerie one either. And… it wasn't necessarily silent. The wind had picked up, and a small whistling sound could be heard not too far above them. Having oversensitive ears, he could hear Jack's breathing resounding off the walls. He could even make out a heartbeat.

Bunny was sitting comfortably on the ground, a sleeping winter spirit cradled in his arms who was unintentionally creating a light snow above them. Not that Bunnymund minded, of course. It was the first time he actually got a chance to see winter's snowflakes at work after misunderstanding it for so long. The fragile snowflakes seemed to be created out of thin air towards the ceiling of the workshop, and they swirled gently down to earth before either landing on Bunny's fur or disappearing altogether. It was, although slightly chilly, a breathtaking delight.

But Bunny knew better than anyone that good things don't last forever.

So when he saw the three other Guardians return to the workshop with sullen looks on their faces, he wasn't very much surprised. Upon their arrival, Bunny carefully lifted Jack off of him and set him down on the floor. He would wake up soon anyway. He hopped toward the others silently, who led them out into the hallway to discuss as to not wake up the sleeping spirit in the Globe Room.

"How is Jack doing, Bunny?" North questioned with a serious look on his face.

Bunny softly closed the hallway door behind him. "He's out cold, mate. Heh, I mean he's down for the count. Where ya been?"

Again, North looked down to the floor, Sandy and Toothiana following suit. "We have… been to talk with Mother Nature, and…" North's voice wavered, and he chewed his lower lip nervously. The others were silent still staring at the floorboards, which in and of itself was enough to put the Pooka on edge.

"And what?" he encouraged. "What is it?"

"We spoke with her about Jack's condition, and she said it was the…" North shook his head and finally brought himself to look Bunny in the eye. "It's his center, Bunny. He's…" he couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.

Bunny's ears drooped, and his heart filled with dread. "No…" Of all the things that could have gone wrong, it had to be this? He silently cursed. _Of all things!?_

"I am afraid so." North mumbled. "She said serious effects could kick in any time. And when they do, he will be… lost…" Sandy winced under North's harsh but true terminology, and he gently patted Tooth's shoulder as she choked back a sob.

Bunny's mind reeled, and his heart raced. No. This was _Jack _they were talking about! Fun was the reason for his being; hell, he was practically the personification of fun (and winter, of course). He couldn't have… Bunny shook his head. "No, we…we-we hafta tell him!"

North crossed his arms. "You know we can't do that, Bunny! Telling him will only make him more anxious and speed up process! No, we must determine what stage he's in, and react accordingly. Has he spoken to you about…?"

"No,"

Tooth placed a hand on Bunny's shoulder. "It's going to be alright, Bunny." she reassured, before Bunny pulled away with a scoff. "No 's not! Ya all bloody know that it's not gonna be okay!" he hissed. "D'you know what that kid has been through already? And-and then you wanna put him through _this, _without even tellin' him!?" The pooka shook his head. "North, do you know how _scared_ he'll be?"

North took a long time to respond, even under Bunny's expectant stare. When he finally spoke, his face was set and his voice calmly composed despite the rapid watering of his eyes. He pulled out a small glass vial labeled _Pol. Opp_. "She says this will help subdue side effects and will act as an-"

"_North!_" Bunny exclaimed furiously as he hopped forward. " 'ave ya not taken that into consideration? He won't know what in the bloody hell's going on! And then we've got Pitch, who'll use Jack's fear to his advantage, no doubt! Did ya even consider Jack's position? Do ya even care?!" Bunny snarled, having ultimately lost his temper. North still appeared unaffected, his expression completely empty as Bunny calmed down. "I understand your anxiety, Bunny." He looked up sternly. "But it's… for the best. All we can do now, my friend, is hope we're not too late to help him."

* * *

When Jack woke up, he felt… different. It wasn't a _good _different, mind you. It was that strange feeling you got when someone was watching you, but you were the only one there. It was that feeling that there were beings around you that meant to harm you, but the only ones in the room were Jack and-

The Guardian of Fun shakily stood up and looked around the room. No. He was the only one here. Bunny was nowhere in sight. Before he considered looking around the workshop, a sharp pain surged through his body, originating from his head, and caused him to topple over most ungracefully to the ground. It was a quick wave of unbearable pain, one that reminded Jack of the brain freezes he got when he drank those milkshakes too fast with Jamie. Only these pains emanated from his head like a headache and swept through every part of his body, a painful numbing sensation that sent chills down his spine. With a feeble moan, Jack gripped his head in his hands. _Come on! I really don't need this now! _He prayed for it to stop. It was a quick splash of cold, hurt, and dread; and just like that, it was gone.

And he felt different still, only to a heightened degree. Firstly, he was _cold, _a rare and rather uncomfortable feeling that usually didn't bother Jack. Secondly, there was a different feeling in the air. It was that sixth sense feeling that told you you were in danger and had to get out NOW. And it scared him. He'd never felt threatened like this before, especially in the North…

Jack's thoughts wavered as he got a good look of the Pole. Then he sternly told himself that he was dreaming. He had to be, right? That, or he was hallucinating again. He mentally scolded himself. This was the perfect example of terrible timing, proof that Father Time clearly wasn't on his side, because the last thing that Jack needed right now was another one of these hallucinating episodes.

But this felt _different _from the other hallucinations he had. It made him feel uneasy. Never have they been this realistic, this detailed, this accurate.

So was it really a hallucination?

He asked himself this question as he inspected the bloodstained window, as well as the walls which were splattered with bloody handprints. It looked as if someone cut themselves on the glass and had hurt themselves, and was using the wall for leverage. It looked pretty real to him, and that meant one of two things. One, his hallucinations have gotten so bad to the point he could actually mistake it for reality instead of shrugging it off, or two, someone actually crashed through this window and was severely injured, and after wandering around somewhere in the Pole.

Fingering the red blood dripping from the sharp edges of the broken glass, he sighed. If this was a hallucination, it probably meant that he should leave before ultimately embarrassing himself. And odds are, it was. But if it wasn't… it wouldn't hurt to just look around the Pole to confirm it, right? What if it was Tooth, or that spirit needed serious help? It seemed to be the smartest thing to do, in his mind. Jack nodded to himself. Yes. He would run a quick round throughout the workshop and see if there was anyone there, maybe run into Bunny and tell him what he saw. And if there were those (downright dreadful, impossible and frightening) hallucinations of his meandering throughout the workshop, he'd flee before the guardians could see him freak out over something they couldn't see. And he really didn't need that in his current disposition.

Jack turned around and reached for his staff, only to pause and jump backwards a few steps in surprise.

A tombstone.

A crumbling gray tombstone was staring at him watchfully with bloodshot eyes that followed his own frightened ones. It resided just in front of his staff. No, Jack didn't consider himself a _baby _or a _chicken, _he just didn't like having to face his hallucinations. Therefore, he deemed it best just to leave his staff there, under the protective watch of his imaginary tombstone, whose eyes followed him all the way out the door and into the hallway.

Jack sighed in relief when he closed the door. That tombstone was beginning to make his skin crawl. He rested his forehead against it and nervously gripped the door handle. He just hoped that the other Guardians didn't make it back from their little field trip yet.

A bone chilling, throaty growl emitted from something that was standing directly behind him, and Jack's heart stopped. His breath caught in his throat and his body refused to obey the first instinct that came to mind: _run. _He stood there paralyzed for a few more seconds before Jack, rather than taking the obvious route of escape that was literally right in front of him, brought himself to turn around and face whatever growled at him.

He wished he hadn't.

God, he _wished _he hadn't. Why couldn't he have just ran?

Monster. It was a monster. It was a disgustingly horrifying creature, whose features were elongated and distorted, or missing altogether. Its limbs looked to have been thrown together with string, tree bark, and bones, then held together by a thick black tar. It's eyes were but empty red sockets that, if Jack dared to stare into them long enough, appeared to go on forever inside of its hollow head. A sickening sense of dread overwhelmed him as the creature's jaw opened to talk, only to disconnect with its cranium. A cracking sound trilled throughout the hallway as it continued to open until it looked as if the jaw was dangling from what was supposed to be its head, and it growled again.

Out of pure terror, Jack's limbs were forced into motion.

He'd much rather face the tombstone with watchful eyeballs than this horrific creature without them.

Faster than he ever thought possible, Jack swiveled around and barged through the door. He ran for his staff full speed only to skid to a halt when the monster, whose trills and growls have now escalated to a deafening roaring sound, sprung in front of him. The monster bawled and rapidly advanced toward him.

"D-don't get any closer!" Jack hollered, his limbs trembling as he shakily attempted to back his way into the hallway. "Stay away from me!"

The monster paused and tilted its head inquisitively. _"Jack? Jack! Jack!?"_ a little girl's voice emitted from its throat. It stared down at him with hollow eyes, and slowly began limping forward, its gnarled bony hands dragging along the floor.

Jack flipped back around and rammed through the hallway door, his bare feet barely touching the floor as he ran down the long hallway and turned the corner. Again, he found himself skidding to a halt, backing up against the wall and staring at what was before him in utter terror.

There were more of them. Three more monsters, to be exact, who abruptly stopped whatever they were doing and turned at him simultaneously. And they, too, began to surround him. All he could hear was the trilling of the monsters and the deafening beating of his heart. His hands were shaking harder then before, he noticed as he balled them up into fists and brought them up to his head in a subconscious effort to calm him down. Then again, who wouldn't be quivering like a leaf when in the presence of these macabre, ghastly monsters? By this time, it slipped Jack's mind that these were coming from his own mind; as far as he was concerned, they were real. They looked real, their chilling groans resonated off the walls, and their intentions were clear.

With a slight whimper, Jack pulled himself together and with a burst of adrenaline, shot through the crowd of monsters and rocketed through the hallway. He felt something slam into his shoulder, something that left a sparkly yellow residue on his blue hoodie, but Jack paid no heed to it, nor did it affect him. He couldn't bring himself to turn around, much less inspect what they were throwing at him.

Before he could open the door at the end of the very end of the hallway, the door that Jack assumed led to one of the toy-making wings in the huge workshop, she appeared in front of him. A little girl, around the age of nine, looking as if she took a swim, as she was drenched head to toe. _"You promised, Jack!" _She said with a sob. _"You promised me!"_

"I-I'm sorry!" Jack spat heartbrokenly before swiveling around her and bursting through the door. She followed, as the monsters did, with breakneck speed. _"You _lied _to me, Jack!" _she hollered, her voice slowly becoming more and more distorted. Jack was afraid to turn around.

By this time, Jack was afraid to look at just about everything around him. He was no longer at the Pole, the door he barged through led to the small town of what was supposed to be Burgess in the 1700s era. And for the third time in five minutes, he find himself sliding to a stop in a desperate effort to keep from colliding with the townspeople. He was convinced; this couldn't have been just an elaborate hallucination. The townspeople, all of which he recognize from his memories, all glowered upon him, some even tried to block his way as he fled from the monsters heading deeper into towns square. They all scolded him and made remarks about him at the same time as he shoved by, making it hard to hear if the monsters were still approaching.

"_Ugh, it's just that one Overland boy. Marlot, you are not to speak with him - nay, you're not to _look _at him, understand?"_

"_Watch where you're going, you miscreant!"_

"_Where should you be, Overland? Running amok the square like a lunatic or herding the sheep out in the field where you belong?"_

Trembling, Jack finally made it at the heart of town square, still frantically looking around as the crowd slowly began to disperse upon his arrival. A deep, familiar voice spoke behind him, and when he sprang back upon realizing that it was one of the monsters, he unknowingly backed himself into three other monsters behind him.

"Don't touch me! Get away!" he shouted as they reached for him.

"_Jack, life isn't all about fun and games._" One of them said in his father's voice, looking down on him angrily. _"Now get down from that tree and help me cut the firewood. I don't give a damn if it's Easter. Work still needs to be done."_

"_Burn him! Burn him!"_

"_Jack! You promised, Jack! You promised!"_

And somewhere in the slur of voices, he could make out Pitch's voice.

"_You want to grab them and run off with them! But you're afraid of what the _Guardians _might think."_

"_Burn him! Burn him!"_

"_You're afraid of disappointing them."_

"_You promised me, Jack!" _

"_Well let me ease your mind on one thing; they'll _never _accept you, not really."_

"_Jack, life isn't all about fun and games."_

"_Oi, Overland! It's all fun and games 'till someone loses an eye, ya hear me?"_

They cornered him like a pack of hunters cornered a wounded animal.

And like a wounded animal, he reacted.

Clenching his eyes and angrily gripping his head, he let out an earsplitting holler, and in a matter of seconds, town square was engulfed in a raging blizzard.

The townspeople remained unfazed and continued to shout at him. The monsters cried out angrily and lunged for him all at once, wrestling him to the floor as he struggled to escape their grip.

"Let go of me! _Let go of me_! _Please!_ I'm sorry!"

His father's voice emitted from their misshapen faces as they spoke to him simultaneously. _"Sorry's not enough, boy! You never treat the bible like it's a joke, you never question Him, you never disobey Him, and you never mock His work! Never! You will learn some respect even if I have to beat it into you!"_

"But I didn't! I swear I was listening! I'm sorry!"

"_Ben, stop it! He's had enough, please leave him be."_

"_You've no say in this, wench!"_

"_Keep that up, and he'll be deathly afraid of you earlier on! He was merely keeping the younger children occupied, for goodness' sake! Why should he be punished for that?"_

It was a question that remained unanswered for the most part, mainly because if you answered it wrong, you'd receive the same treatment as he did. So they let it be. But for whatever reason, Jack always seemed to have the wrong answer. So did that mean they were the wrong questions?

He frantically writhed and tore at the bloodcurdlingly frightening creatures as they attempted to pin him still against the ground. And when the townspeople, all dressed in their bland pilgrim-like fashion and laughing heartily at his distraught disposition, began to gather around the spectacle in he town square, Jack realized that this had happened before, a horrifying case of dé jà vu on his part. Only back then, he wasn't the one to be crucified.

"Please! Please let me go! I'm sorry!"

"_Burn him! Burn him!" _the townspeople cried, a heavy demeanor of outrage and bloodlust about them. Oh god. They weren't going to string him up, were they? They weren't going to set him on fire, were they? They wouldn't do that!

_Yes. _Jack silently had to admit to himself._ Yes they would. They've done it before._

Wildly thrashing and screaming, this thought drove the winter sprite over the edge. _Yes they would._ "Please! Please let me go! I'm _sorry_!" he sobbed over their angry growling and scolding.

"_Jack, life isn't all about fun and games."_ The little girl reminded him as she brought forth a lit candle. _"Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack jump over the candlestick!" _Some of the children sneered from behind the massive circle the monsters created as they held him down. _Yes they would. They've done it before._

"Stop! Stop, please, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't!"

"_You promised! You promised!" _she shouted over all of his cries, kneeling beside him and sliding up one of his sleeves while one of the monsters held him in place.

"_You _lied _to me Jack."_

She lowered the candle onto his bare arm, and the fire licked at his wrist. A searing pain surged throughout his body, and a heart wrenching cry tore from his throat. His back arched in pain as the burning swept through his body, and as quickly as it came, it was gone.

And Jack felt different still. The pain faded quickly, replaced with a dreadfully cold, numbing feeling that overwhelmed him. All efforts of breaking free from the monsters ultimately ceased, and the creature's faces blurred with the smoky background before disappearing altogether. His eyelids grew heavy, and he found that no matter how many times he tried, he had no control of himself in every aspect. His mind drew a blank, completely void of any thoughts or recollections. He tried to say something, but all that would escape his lips were soft, unintelligible moans. His body wouldn't listen to him and fight back against the monsters, and seeing that his mind slowly began to stop thinking altogether, it gave his body no orders to follow in the first place. And his eyes gradually closed against his will as the voices of his attackers met his ears, but were no longer capable of being understood.

"_Jack be nimble, Jack be quick…"_

"_You promised me."_

"_You're not one of them."_

* * *

_Author's Note: I WARNED YOU. (Puts up hate-proof barrier) I'm sowwee :'( The moment was just BEGGING for more unnecessary depression and grotesqueness. Dude, this'll look so cool in comic book form, I swear to you._

_Aaaaand I wrote this before bed one night, so guess who didn't get to sleep until like three in the morning? :D Meeeee. Also, am I the only one who, after reading that one word sentence _Monster. _thought of Meg & Dia's Monster Dubstep Remix? That's like the chapter theme song. Speaking of songs, the next chapter song (or the one after that) will have the theme song Drilled A Wire Through My Cheek, by Blue October, isso beautiful :D. Or Move by Thousand Foot Crutch… hmm… I wanna make an RotG fan video with that song so bad… (but hey if you beat me to it, I'll totally draw you something XD)_

_Oh and thanks for the sweets and milk! (Nomnomnomnomnomnom…)_

_**REVIEW **__but do so gently please. I love my life._

_969~696_


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